Biography

Dr. Pai obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University in 1997. Dr. Pai’s research interests have been wide-ranging with a primary focus on developing biomedical imaging using a range of modalities. He worked on Ultrasound Contrast Agents, Cardiac MRI Navigators and Steady-State MRI during a staff fellowship posting at the Laboratory of Cardiac Energetics, NHLBI, NIH, under the mentorship of Dr. Han Wen. Subsequently, as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at New York University, he worked on high Temporal Resolution Multi-echo Fast MRI for Cardiac Imaging and Hyperpolarized Helium-based Lung Imaging, besides working with Dr. Leon Axel on Cardiac MRI Tagging.

After a short stint as Assistant Professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, where he obtained funding from the CM Baldwin Breast Cancer Foundation to develop spot compression elastomammography, he returned to the NIH as a Staff Scientist in the Imaging Physics Laboratory, NHLBI. In this position, he worked on developing an image processing technique, PCATMIP, with Dr. Han Wen, for improving signal-to-noise in diffusion-weighted MRI primarily for cardiac and other non-neuro applications. He also worked on using Microcomputed Tomography Techniques for imaging the coronary wall in mice and for Visualizing X-ray Contrast Media.

Dr. Pai has six (6) approved patents and one (1) patent application pending.

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Selected Publications

Low b-Value Diffusion-Weighted Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Initial Results in Humans Using an Optimal Time-Window Imaging Approach. Rapacchi S, Wen H, Viallon M, Grenier D, Kellman P, Croisille P, Pai VM. Invest Radiol. 2011 Dec; 46(12):751-8.

Interpretation of dark-field contrast and particle-size selectivity in grating interferometers. Lynch SK, Pai V, Auxier J, Stein AF, Bennett EE, Kemble CK, Xiao XH, Lee WK, Morgan NY, Wen HH. APPLIED OPTICS, 50(22): 4310-4319, AUG 1 2011.

PCATMIP: enhancing signal intensity in diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Pai VM, Rapacchi S, Kellman P, Croisille P, Wen H. Magn Reson Med. 2011 Jun;65(6):1611-9. doi: 10.1002/mrm.22748. Epub 2010 Dec 16.

Single-shot x-ray differential phase-contrast and diffraction imaging using two-dimensional transmission gratings. Wen HH, Bennett EE, Kopace R, Stein AF, Pai V. OPTICS LETTERS, 35(12):1932-1934, JUN 15 2010.

Real-time myocardial segmentation using coupled active geometric functions. Duan Q, Laine AF, Pai VM. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2008;2008:3385-8.

Phase contrast using multiecho steady-state free precession. Pai VM. Magn Reson Med. 2007 Aug; 58(2):419-24.

Rapid-motion-perception based cardiac navigators: using the high flow blood volume as a marker for the position of the heart. Pai VM, Wen H. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2003; 5(4):531-43.

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