Zhe Sun Defends PhD in Biomedical Imaging and Technology

Zhe Sun has successfully defended her PhD thesis in biomedical imaging and technology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine on Monday, September 16.

Dr. Sun’s thesis is titled “Evaluating Cerebral Vascular Aging Using MR Angiography and Quantitative MR Imaging” and focuses on magnetic resonance studies of age-related changes in the brain’s blood vessels. It was advised by Yulin Ge, MD, professor in the department of radiology at NYU Langone Health and scientist at the Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research.

Over a lifetime, the vascular system undergoes a tremendous amount of wear. The heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day. As days become years and decades, physical and biochemical processes “remodel” blood vessels, changing their elasticity, diameter, and many other properties. One of the effects of vascular remodeling is increased twistiness, or tortuosity, which scientists hypothesize may affect the amount of blood and oxygen supplied to tissues, contributing to neurodegenerative conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Sun and colleagues used advanced quantitative MRI and magnetic resonance angiography to study large arteries in the neck, small arteries in the brain, and capillary structures in the choroid plexus, a deeply seated area responsible for the production and regulation of cerebrospinal fluid. The investigations have yielded new imaging techniques and new information about age-related vascular changes.

In one example, the team developed a high-field MRI approach to obtain “a revolutionary in vivo visualization of the corkscrew appearance of cerebral small arteries at a microscopic scale,” writes Dr. Sun in her thesis abstract. “The results showed that the increased count and severity of these tortuous cerebral small arteries are closely linked to aging, body mass index, and enlarged perivascular spaces,” which are of interest as potential markers of neurological conditions.

Dr. Sun’s work has been distinguished by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine with two summa cum laude awards in 2023 and a magna cum laude in 2024. She has reported her and her colleagues’ findings in four research papers, with another four currently in various stages of preparation and review. In addition to the newly earned PhD, Dr. Sun holds an MD with concentration in neurology from Hebei University in China and an MS in bioinformatics from University of Southern California.

A version of this post first appeared on the CAI²R LinkedIn.

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