Affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Rangos Research Center Animal Imaging Core and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

Dr. Yijen Wu is the Director of the Rangos Research Center Animal Imaging Core at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, lending her expertise in animal imaging with MRI, SPECT, PET, CT, ultrasound, bioluminescence and fluorescence, from mice, rats, rabbits, to non-human primates.  Dr. Wu is also an assistant professor in the department of  Developmental Biology,School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh .  Her main research interest is to develop novel noninvasive multi-facet MRI methodology in pre- clinical models for translatable diagnosis, risk stratification, outcome prediction, and therapy. Her research goal is to understand how the heart works and the heart-placenta-brain connection by launching sensitive imaging methodology: (A) to understand etiology and reveal what cannot be seen, understood, or appreciated with the current clinical practice by developing more sensitive advance imaging methods; (B) to facilitate early detection and diagnosis before irreversible tissue damage occurs to allow timely intervention; and (C) to establish non-invasive imaging-based surrogate biomarkers for guiding therapeutic development and efficacy.