ALAMEDA — Alameda resident Sharmila Majumdar, Ph.D., professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco has been awarded the 2016 Gold Medal from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
She was honored for her innovative contributions to the development of quantitative imaging methods, linking these methods to musculoskeletal tissue composition, biochemistry, and skeletal biomechanics and function. Her research has the potential for personalizing treatments for patients, and is a significant step forward in setting up the precision medicine framework for musculoskeletal diseases.
Majumdar received the ISMRM Gold Medal on May 9 at the society’s annual meeting in Singapore.
“Dr. Majumdar has been a leader in MRI for 30 years and has in particular pioneered the development and applications of quantitative imaging to diagnose and understand musculoskeletal disorders,” said John C. Gore, Ph.D., professor of radiology and radiologic sciences and director of the Institute for Imaging Sciences at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. “Her work has had broad translational impact on the clinical management of common problems of joints and cartilage.”
Majumdar is the director of the Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Research (MQIR) group at UCSF, an interdisciplinary team consisting of faculty, postdoctoral scholars and students. Collaborators include a diverse group including orthopedic surgeons, rheumatologists, epidemiologists, and computational scientists. The group has focused on pushing the realm of musculoskeletal imaging to include high resolution, morphological and molecular imaging using magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and combined positron emission tomography (PET)-MR imaging. The prolific investigations undertaken by MQIR have placed the group at the forefront of quantitative imaging research.
“Quantitative MR has created tremendous advances in the areas of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and injury-related joint degeneration. These conditions affect millions of people, have significant impact on the quality of life, and are a major economic burden,” Majumdar said. “It is exciting to see many of the tools and methods developed here at UCSF used in multi-center studies. This award is for our entire team, and I am very grateful to the collaborative and inclusive faculty, as well as the post-docs and trainees working in the MQIR group, for their support of our mission.”
Sharmila Majumdar obtained her Ph.D. degree in engineering and applied science from Yale University in 1987. She was a postdoctoral researcher and assistant professor at Yale before joining UCSF as an assistant professor in 1989.
She is currently a professor and the vice chair for research in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. She has joint appointments in the departments of Orthopedic Surgery and in Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at UCSF, as well as in Bioengineering at UC Berkeley.
Majumdar’s diverse research, ranging from technical development to clinical trials, is supported by grants from the NIH and corporate entities. She was selected as a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers in 2004, and the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine in 2008.
In 2007, the UCSF Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators awarded her the “Excellence in Direct Teaching and Excellence in Mentoring and Advising Award.”
She has published extensively in reputable journals, such as the Journal of Bone Mineral Research and Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and as a reviewer on the editorial board of several scientific journals, Majumdar is widely recognized as an expert in the area of imaging.
The ISMRM is a multidisciplinary nonprofit association that promotes the innovation, development and application of magnetic resonance techniques in medicine and biology throughout the world.
— University of California San Francisco Marketing Department
