Medical Imaging Research Group (MIRG)

Multidisciplinary team including Prof. Doyley awarded NIH grant

Prof. Marvin Doyley is part of a multidisciplinary team which was recently awarded a new $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to better understand why individuals who receive anti-retroviral treatment for HIV are at greater risk for heart disease and stroke.  Scientists speculate that this occurs due to some combination of the infection and treatments themselves, which may be damaging cells in the body’s blood vessels.  One of the key measures in the study will be the thickness and stiffness of the carotid artery – the major blood vessel that serves the head and brain.  The researchers will employ a new ultrasound technology developed by Prof. Doyley’s group to track changes to the vessel over time.  UR neurologist Giovanni Schifitto is one of the principal investigators of the study, along with Sanjay Maggirwar, (UR Department of Microbiology and Immunology) and Jun-Ichi Abe (M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas).  Vikram Dogra (UR Imaging Sciences), Amneris Luque (UR Infections Disease Unit), and Xing Qiu (UR Biostatistics and Computational Biology) are also members of the research team.  Congratulations to Prof. Doyley and the entire team!