Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute

Zahi A. Fayad, PhD
Director of the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute and Professor of Radiology and Medicine (Cardiology), Director and Founder of the Eva and Morris Feld Imaging Science Laboratories, and Director of Cardiovascular Imaging Research

Biomedical imaging offers unparalleled opportunities to transform patient care. As Director of the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, Zahi A. Fayad, PhD, works with researchers across departments and specialties to advance the science of imaging, from the development of new visualization technology to the creation of improved contrast agents. Once confined to radiology and basic cell biology, biomedical imaging today enables in vivo detection of structures and events in biologic systems, ranging from individual macromolecules to whole organisms, and provides clinicians and researchers with real-time images that help detect disease earlier.

Under Dr. Fayad's direction, the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute will apply imaging modalities in both preclinical basic science and clinical research settings to improve diagnostic accuracy; increase the understanding of pathophysiology and metabolism; and measure therapeutic efficacy. The Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute will also support and integrate advances in imaging physics, engineering, nanomedicine and nanochemistry, and image analysis.

Dr. Fayad has made many contributions to the clinical and preclinical research cardiovascular sciences — MRI, multimodality imaging, and molecular imaging — through his seminal work on atherosclerosis imaging. Dr. Fayad is one of the world's leaders in the development and use of multimodality cardiovascular imaging, including cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET), as well as molecular imaging and nanomedicine, to study and treat cardiovascular disease. His focus at Mount Sinai has been on the noninvasive assessment and understanding of atherosclerosis. His pioneering research led to the use of MRI for the evaluation of coronary disease and was selected as one of the American Heart Association's top 10 research advances in 2000. Recently, Dr. Fayad and colleagues designed methods for targeted anti-inflammatory drug delivery to improve the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Dr. Fayad holds seven patents and is the principal investigator of three grants, totaling more than $4 million, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. He is also the principal investigator of the National Institutes of Health-funded Mount Sinai CTSA Imaging Core. Dr. Fayad has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, 50 book chapters, and 400 meeting presentations.

A past president of the Society of Atherosclerosis and Prevention, Dr. Fayad has also served as a fellow of the American Heart Association, and as a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He is a past deputy editor of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and serves on the editorial board of Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Nature Reviews Cardiology, Atherosclerosis, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Imaging.

Dr. Fayad has received many prestigious awards. In 2007 he was awarded the John Paul II Medal from Krakow, Poland, in recognition of the potential his work holds on human health. In 2008 he received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance Imaging for his teaching on cardiovascular imaging and molecular imaging.

Prior to joining Mount Sinai in 1997, Dr. Fayad was a faculty member in the Department of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Fayad received his postdoctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his master's degree in science from Johns Hopkins University.

Some recent awards include:

• Invited opening session distinguished lecture at the 2011 97th Scientific Assembly and Scientific meeting Awarding Organization: Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
• Editorial board member: Journal of Experimental Stroke & Translation Medicine
• Education Committee member: International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
• Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging Committee member:  Society of Nuclear Medicine
• Scientific advisory board member:  Cardiovascular Research Center (PARCC).  Inserm U970, Paris, France
• Advisory board member: Department of Biomedical Engineering CUNY, NY
• Consulting Editor:  Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB)
• Associate Editor:  Journal of the American College of Cardiology- Cardiovascular Imaging
• Scientific Advisory Board member:  CNIC, Madrid, Spain
• Coronary and Plaque Anatomy Working Group member:  FDA
• Medical Imaging (MEDI) study section reviewer:  NIH
• 2012/10 ZRG1 DTCS-A (81) S Clinical and Translational Imaging Applications reviewer:  NIH
• Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC)- Intramural Investigators member: NIH/NHLBI