Overview

Dr. Mao is widely recognized for his expertise in a range of scientific fields, including chemistry, biochemistry, biomaterials, neurosciences, cancer and nanomedicine, with more than 250 peer-reviewed articles published in scientific and medical journals. Dr. Mao is a Distinguished Investigator of the Academy of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research, Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). Regarded as one of the leading experts in the field, he regularly serves on expert review panels and was a Charter Member and past chair of the NIH Study Section for Clinical Molecular Imaging and Probe Development. Dr. Mao currently is associate editor of Radiology: Imaging Cancer. He also is the recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the One-in-a-Hundred Outstanding Mentor Award for the post-doctoral education.

Dr. Mao directs the Precision and Quantitative Imaging and Image-Guided Technology Program and Laboratory of Functional Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine (LFMI&N), which focuses on developing and utilizing cutting-edge functional and molecular imaging technologies to advance early detection and molecular characterizations of diseases for precision medicine.

Research Focus:

The research projects in Dr. Maos laboratory, which has been supported continuously by NIH grants for more than 20 years, are focusing on developing and utilizing imaging technologies to address biological questions and solve medical problems with strong emphases on translational research and potential clinical applications. His research program attempts to link molecular, cell biology and biomarker discovery to non-invasive imaging of biological and disease events and activities in vivo, and eventually in humans for early detection and molecular characterizations of diseases.

The lab's research contributions and activities are highlighted in the following areas: 1) developing biomarker targeted MRI contrast agents for MRI-based molecular and cellular imaging; 2) developing NMR/MRS based metabolomics to profile cell or tissue metabolites in vivo and ex vivo to investigate the potential metabolite markers for improving the specificity of cancer detection and for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases; 3) developing nanomaterial and nanotechnology for image-guided drug delivery and interventions and in vitro diagnostics; 4) developing clinical applications of advanced MRI technologies for imaging and study of brain functions, brain disorders and diseases, as well as image-guided treatment; and 5) developing machine- and deep-learning based automatic image analysis and diagnostics.

Academic Appointment

• Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology
• Professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
• Affiliated Scientist, Emory Primate Research Center, Emory University

Education

Research