Ralph Mason, PhD

Professor
Radiology
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Cancer Biology
Molecular Biophysics
Download Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75390

Office Phone: 214-648-8926
Office Fax: 214-648-4538

ralph.mason@utsouthwestern.edu

Biography

Dr Mason is Director of the Cancer Imaging Program at UT Southwestern with over 20 years experience in cancer imaging, therapy, and tumor pathophysiology. He is Professor of radiology and member of the SimmonsComprehensiveCancerCenter. He serves on four graduate programs including Radiological Sciences, 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 and various foundations including The American Cancer Society, The Whitaker Foundation, and The Mary Kay Ash Foundation. 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 oxygen sensitive MRI in human breast, prostate, cervical, lung, and prostate cancer. He is a recognized expert in the development of novel 19F NMR reporter strategies. Recent pre-clinical innovations include dynamic bioluminescent imaging related to vascular disputing agents and in vivo chemiluminescent imaging. Ongoing projects focus on novel gene reporter molecules, novel vascular disrupting agents and novel drug efficacy and assessment of pathophysiology of tumor response to therapy.

 

 

Education

Graduate SchoolUniversity of Cambridge (1986)

Research Interests

Application of imaging methods to tumor development and response to therapy; development of NMR reporter molecules as probes of physiology and gene transfection; detoxification of xenobiotica; MR miscroscopy and tissue microstructure.
Bioluminescent imaging
gene therapy
NMR- MRI
Oxygen

Publications

Uncoupling hypoxia signaling from oxygen sensing in the liver results in hypoketotic hypoglycemic death.

Kucejova B, Sunny NE, Nguyen AD, Hallac R, Fu X, Peña-Llopis S, Mason RP, Deberardinis RJ, Xie XJ, Debose-Boyd R, Kodibagkar VD, Burgess SC, Brugarolas J, Oncogene, 2011 May; 30 (18):2147-60

Hexamethyldisiloxane-based nanoprobes for (1) H MRI oximetry.

Gulaka PK, Rastogi U, McKay MA, Wang X, Mason RP, Kodibagkar VD, NMR in biomedicine, 2011 Mar;

Quantitative tissue oxygen measurement in multiple organs using (19) F MRI in a rat model.

Liu S, Shah SJ, Wilmes LJ, Feiner J, Kodibagkar VD, Wendland MF, Mason RP, Hylton N, Hopf HW, Rollins MD, Magnetic resonance in medicine : official journal of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine / Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2011 Jun;

Upregulation of TRAG3 gene in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

Karam JA, Huang S, Fan J, Stanfield J, Schultz RA, Pong RC, Sun X, Mason RP, Xie XJ, Niu G, Chen X, Frenkel EP, Sagalowsky AI, Hsieh JT, International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer, 2011 Jun; 128 (12):2823-32

In vivo near-infrared spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging monitoring of tumor response to combretastatin A-4-phosphate correlated with therapeutic outcome.

Zhao D, Chang CH, Kim JG, Liu H, Mason RP, International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2011 Jun; 80 (2):574-81

A perspective on vascular disrupting agents that interact with tubulin: preclinical tumor imaging and biological assessment.

Mason RP, Zhao D, Liu L, Trawick ML, Pinney KG, Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro, 2011 Apr; 3 (4):375-87

Multimodality imaging of hypoxia in preclinical settings.

Mason RP, Zhao D, Pacheco-Torres J, Cui W, Kodibagkar VD, Gulaka PK, Hao G, Thorpe P, Hahn EW, Peschke P, The quarterly journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging : official publication of the Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine (AIMN) [and] the International Association of Radiopharmacology (IAR), [and] Section of the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Biology, 2010 Jun; 54 (3):259-80

S-Gal, a novel 1H MRI reporter for beta-galactosidase.

Cui W, Liu L, Kodibagkar VD, Mason RP, Magnetic resonance in medicine : official journal of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine / Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2010 Jul; 64 (1):65-71

On the potential for molecular imaging with Cerenkov luminescence.

Lewis MA, Kodibagkar VD, Öz OK, Mason RP, Optics letters, 2010 Dec; 35 (23):3889-91

Imaging beta-galactosidase activity in human tumor xenografts and transgenic mice using a chemiluminescent substrate.

Liu L, Mason RP, PloS one, 2010 ; 5 (8):e12024

Books

FLOURINE AND HEALTH (Non-Invasive Physiology and Pharmacology Using 19F Magnetic Resonance)

J.X. Yu, W. Cui, D. Zhao, and R. P. Mason, Elsevier B.V.May 2008

Honors/Awards

CSci

chartered scientist designation of the Science Council (2004)

Lyndon Baines Johnson Award

American Heart Association (Texas Affiliate) (1993)

Young Investigator Award at 5th International Society of Blood Substitutes Meeting

Presentation: “Tumor oxygen tension: Measurement using OxygentTM as a 19F NMR probe at 4.7 T (1993)

CChem

Chartered Chemist of the Royal Society of Chemistry (1987)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

American Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

Senior Editorial Board member (2011)

Imaging in Medicine

Editorial Advisory Board member (2009)

Letters in Drug Design & Discovery

Editorial Advisory Board (2005)

American Association for Cancer Research

Member (1993)

International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

member (1990)

Royal Society of Chemistry

MRSC, CSci, CChem (1987)