Ralph Mason, Ph.D., CSci., CChem., FRSC
Dr. Mason is Director of the Cancer Imaging Program at UT Southwestern with over 25 years’ experience in cancer imaging, therapy, and tumor pathophysiology. He is the section Chief for Pre-Clinical Imaging and Leader of the Predictive Imaging Research Lab (PIRL). He is also Professor of Radiology and member of the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. He serves on the faculty of graduate programs in Biomedical Engineering and Cancer Biology. Dr. Mason and his research team have been supported for many years by NCI, DOD breast and prostate cancer initiatives, various foundations including The American Cancer Society, The Whitaker Foundation, and The Mary Kay Ash Foundation and most recently CPRIT. Dr. Mason’s primary research interest is prognostic radiology- developing and implementing methods for predicting optimal cancer therapy and assessing early response to treatment. Current investigations focus on development of oxygen sensitive MRI in pre-clinical breast, prostate and lung cancer as well as translation to human lung and prostate cancer. Dr. Mason is a recognized expert in the development of novel MR and optical reporter strategies with notable innovations in oxygen sensitive MRI. Recent pre-clinical innovations include dynamic bioluminescent imaging related to vascular disputing agents and in vivo chemiluminescent imaging. Ongoing projects focus on assessment of pathophysiology and development of non-invasive prognostic imaging biomarkers, as a foundation for precision medicine.