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Final Program


Program-At-A-Glance

Akos Varga-Szemes, MD, PhD

Professor, Vice Chair of Research
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Dr. Varga-Szemes is a Professor of Radiology, Vice Chair of Research, and the Director of Cardiovascular Imaging Research in the Department of Radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. Dr. Varga-Szemes received his MD from the University of Pecs in Hungary in 2007. After receiving his MD, he did an internship at the Heart Institute of the University of Pecs and began his PhD studies in the field of CMR. To expand his research opportunities, he joined the Department of Biochemistry at the UAB as a Research Associate to conduct MR contrast agent development. While maintaining his faculty position at UAB, he became the Director of Cardiovascular MRI Research of Elgavish Paramagnetics Inc., where he led a team responsible for the development of MRI post-processing applications focusing on quantitative myocardial tissue characterization and pre-clinical testing of experimental MRI contrast agents. He was PI on multiple NIH grants. He has authored 250+ peer-reviewed manuscripts and 350+ scientific abstracts. He has received multiple scientific awards including the SCMR Regional Scholarship Award and the AHA Young Investigator Award, as well as several travel stipends (RSNA, ISMRM). He is a member of major national and international professional societies including EACVI, ISMRM, NASCI, RSNA, and SCMR. He is currently chair of the NASCI Research Committee and member of several other society committees. He is an Accosicate Editor for JCMR and JMRI, as well as Deputy Editor for European Radiology Experimental. Dr. Varga-Szemes' special interest in cardiovascular MRI began in medical school and now encompasses over 20 years of clinical and research experience. His primary research focus includes state-of-the-art MRI of myocardial pathologies with special emphasis on ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction and the development of unenhanced MR angiography techniques.

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