Seed Grant Launches Career of Pioneering Researcher
Martin Prince, M.D., Ph.D., received his first grant, to attend an astronaut training program, as a high school student. But it was his second grant, this time from the RSNA R&E Foundation, that was life changing for Dr. Prince—and anyone who has needed MR angiography in the last decade or so. Dr. Prince’s career, which has progressed like a series of perfectly placed dominos, began with a Research Resident Grant from the R&E Foundation that enabled him to study laser atherectomy—a treatment for the build up of plaques in the body’s major arteries. That award, which Dr. Prince received as a resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1991, led to an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health.
When the laser procedure collapsed as a viable treatment option during the young doctor’s studies, he focused instead on MR angiography and the use of the contrast agent gadolinium to help produce vascular images without the use of a catheter.
“A lot of people were trying to use gadolinium to get pictures of blood vessels but it was problematic in that all the veins and vessels and capillaries would light up,” explained Dr. Prince.
Using a computer purchased with grant money, he performed modeling of the contrast distribution throughout the body and eventually adjusted the dose and timing of the contrast injection to produce spectacular high-contrast angiograms. His pioneering work not only led to a significant change in the profession—making the non-invasive MR angiography a routine procedure—it also launched Dr. Prince’s career, which has included nearly 100 published papers, books, 26 patents and a full professorship at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
And it all began with one small grant.
“I could never have made these discoveries and had an impact of this magnitude without the kind of support and recognition of a grant from the RSNA R&E Foundation,” said Dr. Prince, who is also Chief of MRI at New York Hospital.
Today, Dr. Prince is helping residents, fellows and junior faculty develop their careers by investing in both teaching and in the R&E Foundation.
“Because of my success, I’ve been able to give back to the Foundation the funding I got early on in my career,” said Dr. Prince, who is a member of the Presidents Circle and a Bronze Visionary Donor.
He believes the opportunities are endless for the next generation of researchers.
“There’s an explosion of ideas for solving imaging problems with more technologies, different types of equipment and people with various types of expertise,” said the scientist.
At the same time he acknowledges the hurdles, including reductions in NIH funding and greater bureaucracy involved in patient consent and privacy.
“It can be difficult for radiologists to get funding because many foundations are not radiologic-oriented,” he added. “RSNA’s R&E Foundation fills that void.”
