Molecular imaging researcher Dr. Sanjiv "Sam" Gambhir, PhD, has been named chair of the department of radiology at Stanford University. Gambhir replaces Dr. Gary Glazer, who led the department for 24 years and plans to retire this year.
Gambhir is currently chief of Stanford's division of nuclear medicine and is director of the molecular imaging program at the university. He also heads the Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, a center funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute that involves faculty from disciplines working on ways to integrate nanotechnology into cancer research.
In addition, he is a member of the Stanford Cancer Institute, and he also directs the Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection, where researchers are developing blood tests and molecular imaging approaches to improve the early detection of cancers. Gambhir is involved in patient care as head of the Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Clinic, a new facility that he helped design and open.
He joined the Stanford faculty in 2003 after spending 20 years at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gambhir will take over in his new position on September 1.
