Soonmee Cha, MD
Research Interests: Perfusion MRI
Dr. Cha is both a neuroradiologist and researcher, and has committed her career to patient-oriented research in the field of brain tumor imaging. She believes that non-invasive imaging technology will make important contributions to the health of patients through improving the specificity and precision of diagnosis and treatment monitoring, which will have significant impact on therapeutic decisions.
The main focus of Dr. Cha’s research is to identify reliable surrogate markers of prognosis and therapeutic efficacy by quantitative MR imaging methods in patients with brain tumors. She believes that by using MR imaging techniques such perfusion MR imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, and 3-dimensional proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, detection of changes in tumor angiogenesis, cellularity, invasion, tumor hypoxia, and metabolic burden can be accurately measured and will provide more specific information about patient’s early response to therapy in the context of tumor growth.
1987: BS, Georgetown University
1991: MD, Georgetown University School of Medicine
1991-1992: Internship, Georgetown University; Transitional Residency, Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA
1992-1996: Residency, Diagnostic Radiology, North Shore University Hospital, Cornell University Medical College
1996-1998: Fellowship, Neuroradiology, NYU Medical Center
1997-1998: Clinical Instructor of Neuroradiology, New York University (NYU) Medical Center, New York, NY
1998-1999: Assistant Professor, Clinical Radiology, NYU School of Medicine
1999-2001: Assistant Professor, Radiology, NYU School of Medicine
2002-Present: Associate Professor, Radiology and Neurological Surgery, UCSF
2014: Educational Exhibit-Cum Laude Award, Radiological Society of North America
2013: Hideyo Minagi Outstanding Teacher Award, UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
2010: Hideyo Minagi Outstanding Teacher Award, UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging