Professor of Radiology
I have the following major research areas:
I. Diffusion tensor imaging (an MR technique that measures rate and direction of microscopic water motion) to examine white matter pathways in the brain. This technique is used by many investigators in an attempt to understand white matter microstructure. My recent work has centered on the histological correlation of DTI metrics. In addition, because DTI metrics can vary substantially within a single scanner at multiple time points as well as between scanners, my work is focused on understanding causes of such variability and designing methods to decrease it.
Since 1998, I have mentored third-year students at Duke University School of Medicine (typically one medical student per year) in both DTI research and perfusion imaging research. Although the research techniques are highly advanced, our implementation of various "user-friendly" software programs allows students with little or no prior experience to analyze data in a productive manner. Our research is also well-suited to individuals with advanced computer skills or an interest in biomedical or electrical engineering. Students work closely with research personnel on a daily basis. They also meet with collaborators from various basic science and clinical departments and me in a laboratory meeting once a week. The focus of these meetings is to plan experiments, refine research methods, discuss experimental results and prepare manuscripts. Students serve as first authors or co-authors on manuscripts based on their specific research project. The results of a number of such projects have been published.
II. Applications of nanotechnology to treatment of cancer (both CNS and non-CNS) and brain disorders. My research involves design and implementation of nanoparticles and fluorescent molecules for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Although I am trained as a neurologist and neuroradiologist, most of my nanotechnology-based research is oriented towards non-CNS tumors such as breast cancer and sarcomas. In the past few years, my Emory and Georgia Tech colleagues and I have conducted research using animals with naturally-occurring tumors at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. This work has focused on the use of a handheld device to detect fluorophores that are administered intravenously prior to surgery. We are presently validating the use of this combination of imaging device and contrast agent to guide surgical resection of tumors. I am also interested in development of nanotechnology-based non-invasive and minimally invasive devices that can continuously monitor tumor physiological characteristics and response to therapy. This work is done in conjunction with a number of colleagues in Biomedical Engineering at both Duke and Emory and supported by a number of NIH grants. Finally, I have a strong interest in use of nanotechnology for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Professor of Radiology
- Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Contact Information
- Office Location: 1533 Hosp North, Durham, NC
- Email Address: prove001@mc.duke.edu
Education
- M.D. Albany Medical College, 1983
Representative Publications
- Provenzale, James M., Jared Isaacson, Steven Chen, Sandra Stinnett, and Chunlei Liu. “Correlation of apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy values in the developing infant brain.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 195, no. 6 (December 2010): W456–62. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.10.4886.
- Mohs, Aaron M., Michael C. Mancini, Sunil Singhal, James M. Provenzale, Brian Leyland-Jones, May D. Wang, and Shuming Nie. “Hand-held spectroscopic device for in vivo and intraoperative tumor detection: contrast enhancement, detection sensitivity, and tissue penetration.” Anal Chem 82, no. 21 (November 1, 2010): 9058–65. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac102058k.
- Mohs, Aaron M., and James M. Provenzale. “Applications of nanotechnology to imaging and therapy of brain tumors.” Neuroimaging Clin N Am 20, no. 3 (August 2010): 283–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nic.2010.04.002.
- Provenzale, James M., Claro Ison, and David Delong. “Bidimensional measurements in brain tumors: assessment of interobserver variability.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 193, no. 6 (December 2009): W515–22. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.09.2615.
- Provenzale, J. M., and G. A. Silva. “Uses of nanoparticles for central nervous system imaging and therapy.” AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 30, no. 7 (August 2009): 1293–1301. https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A1590.
- Crow, Matthew J., Gerald Grant, James M. Provenzale, and Adam Wax. “Molecular imaging and quantitative measurement of epidermal growth factor receptor expression in live cancer cells using immunolabeled gold nanoparticles.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 192, no. 4 (April 2009): 1021–28. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.07.3535.
- Madden, David J., Julia Spaniol, Matthew C. Costello, Barbara Bucur, Leonard E. White, Roberto Cabeza, Simon W. Davis, Nancy A. Dennis, James M. Provenzale, and Scott A. Huettel. “Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance.” J Cogn Neurosci 21, no. 2 (February 2009): 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2009.21047.
- Viola, Ronald J., James M. Provenzale, Fang Li, Chuan-Yuan Li, Hong Yuan, Jessica Tashjian, and Mark W. Dewhirst. “In vivo bioluminescence imaging monitoring of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha, a promoter that protects cells, in response to chemotherapy.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 191, no. 6 (December 2008): 1779–84. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.07.4060.
- Sampson, John H., Gamal Akabani, Gerald E. Archer, Mitchel S. Berger, R Edward Coleman, Allan H. Friedman, Henry S. Friedman, et al. “Intracerebral infusion of an EGFR-targeted toxin in recurrent malignant brain tumors.” Neuro Oncol 10, no. 3 (June 2008): 320–29. https://doi.org/10.1215/15228517-2008-012.
- Provenzale, James M., Luxia Liang, David DeLong, and Leonard E. White. “Diffusion tensor imaging assessment of brain white matter maturation during the first postnatal year.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 189, no. 2 (August 2007): 476–86. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.07.2132.
- Beam, Donald, Michele D. Poe, James M. Provenzale, Paul Szabolcs, Paul L. Martin, Vinod Prasad, Suhag Parikh, et al. “Outcomes of unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.” Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 13, no. 6 (June 2007): 665–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbmt.2007.01.082.
- Madden, David J., Julia Spaniol, Wythe L. Whiting, Barbara Bucur, James M. Provenzale, Roberto Cabeza, Leonard E. White, and Scott A. Huettel. “Adult age differences in the functional neuroanatomy of visual attention: a combined fMRI and DTI study.” Neurobiol Aging 28, no. 3 (March 2007): 459–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.01.005.
- Provenzale, James M. “Imaging of angiogenesis: clinical techniques and novel imaging methods.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 188, no. 1 (January 2007): 11–23. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.06.0280.
- Provenzale, James M., Srinivasan Mukundan, and Daniel P. Barboriak. “Diffusion-weighted and perfusion MR imaging for brain tumor characterization and assessment of treatment response.” Radiology 239, no. 3 (June 2006): 632–49. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2393042031.
- Provenzale, James M., Srinivasan Mukundan, and Mark Dewhirst. “The role of blood-brain barrier permeability in brain tumor imaging and therapeutics.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 185, no. 3 (September 2005): 763–67. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.185.3.01850763.
- Kealey, Susan M., Youngjoo Kim, Wythe L. Whiting, David J. Madden, and James M. Provenzale. “Determination of multiple sclerosis plaque size with diffusion-tensor MR Imaging: comparison study with healthy volunteers.” Radiology 236, no. 2 (August 2005): 615–20. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2362040014.
- McGraw, Peter, Luxia Liang, Maria Escolar, Srinivasan Mukundan, Joanne Kurtzberg, and James M. Provenzale. “Krabbe disease treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: serial assessment of anisotropy measurements--initial experience.” Radiology 236, no. 1 (July 2005): 221–30. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2353040716.
- Provenzale, James M., and Srinivasan Mukundan. “Getting small is suddenly very big: review of the proceedings of the third annual meeting of the Society for Molecular Imaging.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 184, no. 6 (June 2005): 1736–39. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.184.6.01841736.
- Taylor, Warren D., James R. MacFall, Martha E. Payne, Douglas R. McQuoid, David C. Steffens, James M. Provenzale, and Ranga Rama Krishnan. “Greater MRI lesion volumes in elderly depressed subjects than in control subjects.” Psychiatry Res 139, no. 1 (May 30, 2005): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2004.08.004.
- Provenzale, James M. “Introduction to the AJR Technology Forum: issues, controversies & utility of PET/CT imaging.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 184, no. 5 Suppl (May 2005): Sii. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.184.5_supplement.01840sii.
- York, Gerald, Daniel Barboriak, Jeffrey Petrella, David DeLong, and James M. Provenzale. “Association of internal carotid artery injury with carotid canal fractures in patients with head trauma.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 184, no. 5 (May 2005): 1672–78. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.184.5.01841672.
- Holmes, Thomas M., Jeffrey R. Petrella, and James M. Provenzale. “Distinction between cerebral abscesses and high-grade neoplasms by dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion MRI.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 183, no. 5 (November 2004): 1247–52. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.183.5.1831247.
- Kealey, Susan M., YoungJoo Kim, and James M. Provenzale. “Redefinition of multiple sclerosis plaque size using diffusion tensor MRI.” AJR Am J Roentgenol 183, no. 2 (August 2004): 497–503. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.183.2.1830497.
- Provenzale, James M., Peter McGraw, Pradnya Mhatre, Alexander C. Guo, and David Delong. “Peritumoral brain regions in gliomas and meningiomas: investigation with isotropic diffusion-weighted MR imaging and diffusion-tensor MR imaging.” Radiology 232, no. 2 (August 2004): 451–60. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2322030959.
- Taylor, Warren D., James R. MacFall, Martha E. Payne, Douglas R. McQuoid, James M. Provenzale, David C. Steffens, and K Ranga Rama Krishnan. “Late-life depression and microstructural abnormalities in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex white matter.” Am J Psychiatry 161, no. 7 (July 2004): 1293–96. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.7.1293.