Faculty & Staff
Alexander C. Wright, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor of Radiology
Deputy Director, Laboratory for Structural NMR Imaging, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Technical Director, Micro-CT Scanner, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Associate Director of Imaging Core, Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders
Department: Radiology
Contact information
Radiology, 1 Silverstein
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-349-5295
Fax: 215-662-7263
Fax: 215-662-7263
Education:
B.S. (Physics)
Georgia Institute of Technology, 1986.
Ph.D. (Physics)
Georgia Institute of Technology, 1991.
B.S. (Physics)
Georgia Institute of Technology, 1986.
Ph.D. (Physics)
Georgia Institute of Technology, 1991.
Post-Graduate Training
Postdoctoral Fellow in Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, 1993-1996.
Postdoctoral Fellow in Functional MRI, Electrical Engineering, and Physics, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996-1998.
Permanent linkPostdoctoral Fellow in Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, 1993-1996.
Postdoctoral Fellow in Functional MRI, Electrical Engineering, and Physics, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996-1998.
Description of Research Expertise
Dr. Wright’s research involves the development of micro-MRI and micro-CT hardware, acquisition strategies and quantitative methods for the purpose of imaging the microstructure of biological tissues at cellular resolution. This includes the design and construction of novel and optimized radio-frequency and gradient coils for micro-MRI, and the development of quantitative image acquisition and analysis techniques for the characterization of tissue micro-architecture using both micro-MRI and micro-CT. Current focus is on developing micro-MRI methods for imaging the intervertebral disc ex vivo in order to measure collagen fiber architecture in the annulus fibrosus of the disc. In addition, micro-CT techniques are being developed for imaging and characterizing structural phenotypes in both soft-tissue and calcified specimens at extremely high resolution (1-10 µm isotropic). Another research effort involves the design, construction and implementation of transmit-receive RF coils for in vivo MRI of bone in the human tibia, using a whole-body 7 Tesla MRI scanner.Selected Publications
J. E. McDonough, R. Yuan, M. Suzuki, N. Seyednejad, W. M. Elliott, P. G. Sanchez, A. C. Wright, W. B. Gefter, L. Litzky, H. O. Coxson, P. D. Paré, D. D. Sin, R. A. Pierce, J. C. Woods, A. M. McWilliams, J. R. Mayo, S. C. Lam, J. D. Cooper, J. C. Hogg: Small-airway obstruction and emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The New England Journal of Medicine 365(17): 1567-1575, October 2011.P. Tsao, V. Arora, M. Q. Ji, A. C. Wright, R. Eisenberg: KRN/I-Ag7 mouse arthritis is independent of complement C3. Journal of Clinical Immunology 2011 Notes: Published online: 06 July 2011.
Y. A. Bhagat, C. S. Rajapakse, J. F. Magland, J. H. Love, A. C. Wright, M. J. Wald, H. K. Song, F. W. Wehrli: Performance of µMRI-based virtual bone biopsy for structural and mechanical analysis at the distal tibia at 7T field strength. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 33: 372-381, 2011.
A. C. Wright, R. Lemdiasov, T. J. Connick, Y. A. Bhagat, J. F. Magland, H. K. Song, S. P. Toddes, R. Ludwig, F. W. Wehrli: Helmholtz-pair transmit coil with integrated receive array for high-resolution MRI of trabecular bone in the distal tibia at 7 T. Journal of Magnetic Resonance 210: 113-122, 2011.
J. F. Magland, C. S. Rajapakse, A. C. Wright, R. Acciavatti, F. W. Wehrli: 3D fast spin echo with out-of-slab cancellation - A technique for high-resolution structural imaging of trabecular bone at 7 Tesla. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 63: 719-727, 2010.
S. Anumula, S. L. Wehrli, J. Magland, A. C. Wright, F. W. Wehrli: Ultra-short echo-time MRI detects changes in bone mineralization and water content in OVX rat bone in response to alendronate treatment. Bone 46: 1391-1399, 2010.
F. Liu, S. Dangaria, T. Andl, Y. Zhang, A. C. Wright, M. Damek-Poprawa, S. Piccolo, A. Nagy, M. M. Taketo, T. G. H. Diekwisch, S. O. Akintoye, S. E. Millar: Beta-catenin initiates tooth neogenesis in adult rodent incisor. Journal of Dental Research 89: 909-914, 2010.
K. Degenhardt, A. C. Wright, D. Horng, A. Padmanabhan, J. A. Epstein: Rapid three-dimensional phenotyping of cardiovascular development in mouse embryos by micro-CT with iodine staining. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging 3: 314-322, 2010 Notes: Referenced by an Editorial in the same issue.
D. Hamamdzic, R. S. Fenning, D. Patel, E. R. Mohler III, K. A. Orlova, A. C. Wright, R. Llano, M. G. Keane, R. P. Shannon, M. J. Birnbaum, R. L. Wilensky: The Akt pathway is hypo-activated by the synergistic actions of diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia resulting in advanced coronary artery disease. American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology 299: H699-H706, 2010.
S. K. Custer, M. Neumann, H. Lu, A. C. Wright, J. P. Taylor: Transgenic mice expressing mutant forms VCP/p97 recapitulate the full spectrum of IBMPFD including degeneration in muscle, brain and bone. Human Molecular Genetics 19: 1741-1755, 2010.
