Qing Dai

I’m a PhD candidate in Bioengineering and Radiology at UCLA, affiliated with the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. I am advised by Dr. Holden Wu in the UCLA Magnetic Resonance Research Lab. I’m finishing my PhD in Summer 2026.

Before UCLA, I received my M.S. in Biomedical Imaging from UCSF in 2019 (advised by Dr. Peder Larson) and my B.S. in Biochemistry with a minor in Bioinformatics from UCLA in 2017.

Research

My PhD research focuses on developing advanced imaging and image-guidance systems for minimally invasive cancer treatment. My work spans algorithm development, medical device integration, computational modeling, and translational validation — from benchtop through large-animal cancer models to human subjects.

Real-time imaging and monitoring for interventional MRI. I develop methods that enable continuous MRI monitoring during active treatment — including a software-based EMI suppression system that eliminates device interference without hardware modifications (patent pending), a 3D volumetric thermometry pipeline that tracks temperature across the entire liver during breathing, and calibrated computational models that predict ablation outcomes.

Workflow design and translational validation. I design and validate end-to-end image-guided intervention workflows — from treatment planning and device guidance through procedural monitoring to post-procedure evaluation and pathology confirmation — across ex vivo tissue phantoms, murine cancer models, porcine cancer models (Oncopig), and human subjects. In collaboration with Dr. David Lu (UCLA Interventional Radiology), the Chiang Lab (UCLA Interventional Radiology), and the MAC Lab (UCLA Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering).

Nano-theranostic imaging. I develop MRI-based methods for confirming and monitoring focused-ultrasound-mediated drug delivery using stimuli-responsive nanoparticle platforms. My work spans acquisition framework design, in vitro characterization, HIFU protocol development, and in vivo validation — demonstrating spatially targeted visualization of nanoparticle delivery with 139× signal amplification and improved therapeutic outcomes versus controls in animal models. In collaboration with the Zink Group (UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry).

Selected Publications

iMRI

Volumetric thermometry in moving tissues using stack-of-radial MRI and an image-navigated multi-baseline proton resonance frequency shift method

Qing Dai, Shu-Fu Shih, Omar Curiel, Tsu-Chin Tsao, David S. Lu, Jason Chiang, and Holden H. Wu

Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2026

Award DOI Bib HTML

Summa Cum Laude & AMPC Selected (top 1%), ISMRM 2024 · Summa Cum Laude, ISMRM 2023

@article{dai2026thermometry,
  title = {Volumetric thermometry in moving tissues using stack-of-radial {MRI} and an image-navigated multi-baseline proton resonance frequency shift method},
  author = {Dai, Qing and Shih, Shu-Fu and Curiel, Omar and Tsao, Tsu-Chin and Lu, David S. and Chiang, Jason and Wu, Holden H.},
  journal = {Magnetic Resonance in Medicine},
  volume = {95},
  number = {2},
  pages = {803--819},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1002/mrm.70074},
}

Nano-Theranostics

Thermoresponsive Polymer-Modified SiO\textsubscript2/Gadolinium-Diethylenetriamine Pentaacetic Acid Composite Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Ultrasound-Modulated Contrast Enhancement at Human Body Temperatures

Tian Deng, Qing Dai, Daniel A. Estabrook, John Chapman, Ellen M. Sletten, Holden H. Wu, and Jeffrey I. Zink

ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2025

Equal contribution

DOI Bib HTML

@article{deng2025nanoparticles,
  title = {Thermoresponsive Polymer-Modified {SiO\textsubscript{2}}/Gadolinium-Diethylenetriamine Pentaacetic Acid Composite Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Ultrasound-Modulated Contrast Enhancement at Human Body Temperatures},
  author = {Deng, Tian and Dai, Qing and Estabrook, Daniel A. and Chapman, John and Sletten, Ellen M. and Wu, Holden H. and Zink, Jeffrey I.},
  journal = {ACS Applied Nano Materials},
  volume = {8},
  number = {47},
  pages = {22835--22844},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1021/acsanm.5c04320},
  note = {Equal contribution}
}

iMRI
Active electromagnetic interference suppression for MR thermometry during MR-guided microwave ablation

Qing Dai, Jason Chiang, Shu-Fu Shih, Wenqi Zhou, David S. K. Lu, and Holden H. Wu

In Proc. International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Annual Meeting, 2025

U.S. Patent Pending

Award Abs Bib Conference Proceedings

AMPC Selected (top 1%), ISMRM 2025 · Summa Cum Laude, ISMRM 2025

Purpose: To develop a software-based active electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression (AES) framework on whole-body multi-channel MRI systems for reliable MRI and MR thermometry during MRI-guided microwave ablation (MWA). Methods: In addition to primary imaging coils, an unloaded standard body array coil was positioned outside the imaging volume to serve as "auxiliary coils" for detecting and characterizing EMI. At each time frame, principal component analysis compressed the auxiliary coil data to extract the dominant EMI pattern. The EMI coupled into the primary coils was then modeled with channel-specific impulse response functions and subtracted from the primary coil data on a frame-by-frame basis. The framework was evaluated through MWA experiments in gel phantoms and in vivo pig models at 3T with parallel imaging acceleration. Proton resonance frequency shift (PRF) MR thermometry accuracy was assessed using fiber-optic probes. The PRF-derived thermal dose prediction was compared with post-ablation MRI and tissue gross pathology. Results: AES effectively suppressed EMI-induced artifacts and substantially improved image quality, yielding signal-to-noise-ratio enhancement of 40-fold (gel) and 13-fold (in vivo) and an EMI suppression rate >92%. Reliable PRF temperature mapping was enabled, with temporal mean-absolute-error of <1.4°C and <0.3°C in ablated and non-heating regions, respectively. Thermal dose estimation matched post-ablation MRI and gross pathology findings. Conclusion: The proposed AES framework effectively suppressed ablation-device-related EMI and enabled reliable MRI and MR thermometry during MWA. This approach can be integrated into existing reconstruction pipelines to facilitate the broader clinical adoption of MRI-guided MWA and other interventions affected by EMI.
@inproceedings{dai2026emi, title = {Active electromagnetic interference suppression for {MR} thermometry during {MR}-guided microwave ablation}, author = {Dai, Qing and Chiang, Jason and Shih, Shu-Fu and Zhou, Wenqi and Lu, David S. K. and Wu, Holden H.}, booktitle = {Proc. International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Annual Meeting}, address = {Honolulu, HI, USA}, pages = {0677}, year = {2025}, note = {U.S. Patent Pending}, ismrm = {https://archive.ismrm.org/2025/0677.html} }