Elias A. Zerhouni

In the mid-1980s, cardiologists faced a particularly vexing problem: how to measure, accurately and noninvasively, the thickness of heart tissue as it changed over time. Elias A. Zerhouni, a young radiology professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, struggled over the issue with a small team of physicists. "One day, he walked into the room with this incredible smile on his face, like you would have if you made a great molecular discovery," recalls Myron Weisfeldt, director of Hopkins' Depart

Written byTed Agres

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Zerhouni and his team had developed a way to tag cardiac tissue, making it visible to noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instruments. The discovery proved to be as practical as it was innovative: The subsequently patented tagging system has become a bedrock MRI technology, used by physiologists, cardiologists, and engineers worldwide.¹

"As one of the world's premier experts in magnetic resonance imaging, Elias has extended the role of MRI from taking snapshots of gross anatomy to visualizing how the body works at the molecular level," says Edward D. Miller, dean and CEO, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "In so doing, he has provided a new tool for scientists to understand the origins of disease and how treatments can be tailored to be more effective."

Zerhouni "has displayed a remarkable gift for understanding complex basic science outside his field and appreciating all the ramifications of new findings," adds Solomon H. ...

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