Misung Han, PhD
Associate Researcher
Radiology
School of Medicine

At UCSF, she primarily belongs to the Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Research Group. She has focused on developing new MRI methods for depicting high-resolution structure and quantifying tissue parameters in musculoskeletal tissues including semi-solid/solid tissues. In addition, she has worked with other research groups, applying her technical expertise for diverse clinical applications. By working with the Neuro Imaging group, she developed accelerated DSC perfusion imaging techniques for brain tumor quantification and multiband TOF/SWI techniques to assess vasculature and vascular injury. By working with the Focused Ultrasound Lab, she developed UTE temperature mapping methods that have potentials to assess heat deposition in cortical bone.

She is a recipient of an NIAMS K01 grant to develop MRI techniques to comprehensively assess rotator cuff pathology. She has great interests in developing novel, efficient MRI techniques to improve diagnostic capability and to quantify image biomarkers associated with degeneration.

• Effects of T1p Characteristics of Load-Bearing Hip Cartilage on Bilateral Knee Patellar Cartilage Subregions: Subjects With None to Moderate Radiographic Hip Osteoarthritis.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2023 Bhattacharjee R, Thahakoya R, Luitjens J, Han M, Roach KE, Jiang F, Souza RB, Pedoia V, Majumdar S
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Lumbar Spine: Recommendations for Acquisition and Image Evaluation from the BACPAC Spine Imaging Working Group.
  Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) 2023 Sollmann N, Fields AJ, O'Neill C, Nardo L, Majumdar S, Chin CT, Tosun D, Han M, Vu AT, Ozhinsky E, Shah LM, Harris RE, Lobo R, Anderst W, Herzog R, Psioda MA, Standaert CJ, Price RT, Lotz JC, Link TM,…
• Technology and Tool Development for BACPAC: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Accelerated Lumbar Spine MRI with Deep-Learning Based Image Reconstruction at 3T.
  Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) 2023 Han M, Bahroos E, Hess ME, Chin CT, Gao KT, Shin DD, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Link TM, Pedoia V, Majumdar S
• UTE-MRI for Spinal Applications.
  MRI of Short and Ultrashort-T_2 Tissues 2023 Noah B. Bonnheim, Misung Han, Aaron J. Fields, Cynthia Chin, Roland Krug
• Region of interest-specific loss functions improve T2 quantification with ultrafast T2 mapping MRI sequences in knee, hip and lumbar spine.
  Scientific reports 2022 Tolpadi AA, Han M, Calivà F, Pedoia V, Majumdar S
• Influence of patient-specific factors when comparing multifidus fat infiltration between chronic low back pain patients and asymptomatic controls.
  JOR spine 2022 Ballatori AM, Shahrestani S, Nyayapati P, Agarwal V, Krug R, Han M, Fields AJ, O'Neill C, Demir-Deviren S, Lotz JC, Bailey JF
• Magnetization-prepared spoiled gradient-echo snapshot imaging for efficient measurement of R2 -R1ρ in knee cartilage.
  Magnetic resonance in medicine 2021 Han M, Tibrewala R, Bahroos E, Pedoia V, Majumdar S
• Measurement of vertebral endplate bone marrow lesion (Modic change) composition with water-fat MRI and relationship to patient-reported outcome measures.
  European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society 2021 Fields AJ, Ballatori A, Han M, Bailey JF, McCormick ZL, O'Neill CW, Demir-Deviren S, Krug R, Lotz JC
• Simultaneous multi-slice spin- and gradient-echo dynamic susceptibility-contrast perfusion-weighted MRI of gliomas.
  NMR in biomedicine 2020 Han M, Yang B, Fernandez B, Lafontaine M, Alcaide-Leon P, Jakary A, Burns BL, Morrison MA, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Chang SM, Banerjee S, Lupo JM
• Investigating the Association of Metabolic Biomarkers With Knee Cartilage Composition and Structural Abnormalities Using MRI: A Pilot Study.
  Cartilage 2020 Ashmeik W, Baal JD, Foreman SC, Joseph GB, Bahroos E, Han M, Krug R, Link TM
• Evaluation of human cartilage endplate composition using MRI: Spatial variation, association with adjacent disc degeneration, and in vivo repeatability.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2020 Wang L, Han M, Wong J, Zheng P, Lazar AA, Krug R, Fields AJ
• Bone material analogues for PET/MRI phantoms.
  Medical physics 2020 Chandramohan D, Cao P, Han M, An H, Sunderland JJ, Kinahan PE, Laforest R, Hope TA, Larson PEZ
• Associations between vertebral body fat fraction and intervertebral disc biochemical composition as assessed by quantitative MRI.
  Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 2019 Roland Krug, Gabrielle B. Joseph, Misung Han, Aaron Fields, Justin Cheung, Maya Mundada, Jeannie Bailey, Alice Rochette, Alexander Ballatori, Charles E. McCulloch, Zachary McCormick, Conor O'Neill, …
• Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Exhibit a More Mineralized Deep Cartilage Layer Compared with Nondiabetic Controls: A Pilot Study.
  Cartilage 2019 Foreman SC, Ashmeik W, Baal JD, Han M, Bahroos E, von Schacky CE, Carl M, Krug R, Joseph GB, Link TM
• The Relationship Between Endplate Pathology and Patient-reported Symptoms for Chronic Low Back Pain Depends on Lumbar Paraspinal Muscle Quality.
  Spine 2019 Bailey JF, Fields AJ, Ballatori A, Cohen D, Jain D, Coughlin D, O'Neill C, McCormick Z, Han M, Krug R, Demir-Deviren S, Lotz JC
• Cortical bone vessel identification and quantification on contrast-enhanced MR images.
  Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery 2019 Wu PH, Gibbons M, Foreman SC, Carballido-Gamio J, Han M, Krug R, Liu J, Link TM, Kazakia GJ
• Patients with type 2 diabetes exhibit a more calcified deep cartilage layer compared to nondiabetic controls: a pilot study.
  Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2019 S.C. Foreman, W. Ashmeik, J.D. Baal, E. Bahroos, R. Krug, M. Han, G.B. Joseph, T.M. Link
• Associations between vertebral body fat fraction and intervertebral disc biochemical composition as assessed by quantitative MRI.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2019 Krug R, Joseph GB, Han M, Fields A, Cheung J, Mundada M, Bailey J, Rochette A, Ballatori A, McCulloch CE, McCormick Z, O'Neill C, Link TM, Lotz J
• Cartilage Endplate Thickness Variation Measured by Ultrashort Echo-Time MRI Is Associated With Adjacent Disc Degeneration.
  Spine 2018 Berg-Johansen B, Han M, Fields AJ, Liebenberg EC, Lim BJ, Larson PE, Gunduz-Demir C, Kazakia GJ, Krug R, Lotz JC
• Quantification of 89 Zr-Iron oxide nanoparticle biodistribution using PET-MR and ultrashort TE sequences.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2018 Jordan CD, Han M, Kondapavulur S, Vera DB, Neumann KD, Moore T, Stillson C, Krug R, Behr S, Seo Y, VanBrocklin HF, Larson PEZ, Wilson M, Martin AJ, Hetts SW
• Trabecular bone microstructure is impaired in the proximal femur of human immunodeficiency virus-infected men with normal bone mineral density.
  Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery 2018 Kazakia GJ, Carballido-Gamio J, Lai A, Nardo L, Facchetti L, Pasco C, Zhang CA, Han M, Parrott AH, Tien P, Krug R
• In vivo characterization of brain ultrashort-T2 components.
  Magnetic resonance in medicine 2017 Boucneau T, Cao P, Tang S, Han M, Xu D, Henry RG, Larson PEZ
• T2-based temperature monitoring in bone marrow for MR-guided focused ultrasound.
  Journal of therapeutic ultrasound 2016 Ozhinsky E, Han M, Bucknor M, Krug R, Rieke V
• Ultrashort echo time and zero echo time MRI at 7T.
  Magma (New York, N.Y.) 2015 Larson PE, Han M, Krug R, Jakary A, Nelson SJ, Vigneron DB, Henry RG, McKinnon G, Kelley DA
• Assessing temperature dependence of T1 in cortical bone using ultrashort echo-time MRI.
  Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound 2015 Misung Han, Serena Scott, Eugene Ozhinsky, Vasant Salgaonkar, Peter Jones, Peder Larson, Chris Diederich, Roland Krug, Viola Rieke
• Relationship between temperature and T2 in subcutaneous fat and bone marrow at 3T.
  Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound 2015 Eugene Ozhinsky, Misung Han, Serena Scott, Chris Diederich, Viola Rieke
• Quantifying temperature-dependent T1 changes in cortical bone using ultrashort echo-time MRI.
  Magnetic resonance in medicine 2015 Han M, Rieke V, Scott SJ, Ozhinsky E, Salgaonkar VA, Jones PD, Larson PE, Diederich CJ, Krug R
• Metal artifact suppression at the hip: diagnostic performance at 3.0 T versus 1.5 Tesla.
  Skeletal radiology 2015 Nardo L, Han M, Kretzschmar M, Kretschmar M, Guindani M, Koch K, Vail T, Krug R, Link TM
• Variable flip angle three-dimensional fast spin-echo sequence combined with outer volume suppression for imaging trabecular bone structure of the proximal femur.
  Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 2015 Misung Han, Ko Chiba, Suchandrima Banerjee, Julio Carballido-Gamio, Roland Krug
• Metal artefact suppression at 3 T MRI: comparison of MAVRIC-SL with conventional fast spin echo sequences in patients with Hip joint arthroplasty.
  European radiology 2015 Kretzschmar M, Nardo L, Han MM, Heilmeier U, Sam C, Joseph GB, Koch KM, Krug R, Link TM
• Validation of bone marrow fat quantification in the presence of trabecular bone using MRI.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2014 Gee CS, Nguyen JT, Marquez CJ, Heunis J, Lai A, Wyatt C, Han M, Kazakia G, Burghardt AJ, Karampinos DC, Carballido-Gamio J, Krug R
• Cartilaginous end plates: Quantitative MR imaging with very short echo times-orientation dependence and correlation with biochemical composition.
  Radiology 2014 Fields AJ, Han M, Krug R, Lotz JC
• Variable flip angle three-dimensional fast spin-echo sequence combined with outer volume suppression for imaging trabecular bone structure of the proximal femur.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2014 Han M, Chiba K, Banerjee S, Carballido-Gamio J, Krug R
• In vitro assessment of knee MRI in the presence of metal implants comparing MAVRIC-SL and conventional fast spin echo sequences at 1.5 and 3 T field strength.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2014 Liebl H, Heilmeier U, Lee S, Nardo L, Patsch J, Schuppert C, Han M, Rondak IC, Banerjee S, Koch K, Link TM, Krug R
• Depiction of achilles tendon microstructure in vivo using high-resolution 3-dimensional ultrashort echo-time magnetic resonance imaging at 7 T.
  Investigative radiology 2014 Han M, Larson PE, Liu J, Krug R
• Approaches for modelling interstitial ultrasound ablation of tumours within or adjacent to bone: theoretical and experimental evaluations.
  International journal of hyperthermia : the official journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group 2013 Scott SJ, Prakash P, Salgaonkar V, Jones PD, Cam RN, Han M, Rieke V, Burdette EC, Diederich CJ
• Homogenous fat suppression for bilateral breast imaging using independent shims.
  Magnetic resonance in medicine 2013 Han M, Cunningham CH, Pauly JM, Daniel BL, Hargreaves BA
• Reduction of flow artifacts by using partial saturation in RF-spoiled gradient-echo imaging.
  Magnetic resonance in medicine 2011 Han M, Hargreaves BA
• Independent slab-phase modulation combined with parallel imaging in bilateral breast MRI.
  Magnetic resonance in medicine 2009 Han M, Beatty PJ, Daniel BL, Hargreaves BA
• Accelerated bilateral dynamic contrast-enhanced 3D spiral breast MRI using TSENSE.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2008 Han M, Daniel BL, Hargreaves BA