Ralph Weissleder

Ralph Weissleder (born November 8, 1958 in Zell am Harmersbach, Germany) is a Professor at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Center for Systems Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an Attending Interventional Radiologist at MGH.

Ralph Weissleder graduated from University of Heidelberg in 1985. Following his degrees, Dr. Weissleder completed an Internship and Residency at University Hospital, Monterrey, Mexico. Dr. Weissleder pursued his post-doctoral research (1986-1989) and clinical training in radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and at Harvard Medical School (HMS). In 1994, Dr. Weissleder became Assistant Professor at HMS, Full Professor in 2001 (Department of Radiology), and remains an active physician (interventional radiology) at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2007, Dr. Weissleder was appointed Director of the MGH Center for Systems Biology and in 2008, he was also appointed Professor in Systems Biology at HMS. Dr. Weissleder is a member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

Dr. Weissleder has received honorary degrees from The Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León, Mexico (2007) and from Harvard University (2001).

Dr. Weissleder is a widely recognized and cited researcher in biotechnology, especially in the fields of imaging and next-gen diagnostics. His research interests include the development of novel molecular imaging techniques, tools for early disease detection as well as the development of nanomaterials for sensing and systems analysis. His research is translational in nature and several of his developments have led to commercialized technologies and advanced clinical trials. He is cofounder of T2 Biosystems, Lumicell, Accure Health, VisEn Medical (acquired by Perkin Elmer), and an advisor to several other biotech companies (Moderna, Alivio Therapeutics, Tarveda Therapeutics).

Dr. Weissleder's practices at Massachusetts General Hospital which is widely recognized [1] for its patient care and ranks among the most accomplished and innovative medical institutions in the world. He is a faculty member of the Department of Radiology and practices in interventional radiology with a particular focus on interventional oncology. He is a member of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization. He has trained over 200 fellows.

Dr. Weissleder has published over 940 publications in peer reviewed journals, has authored and co-authored several textbooks and holds 68 patents. His work has been cited over 161,000 times and he has an h-index of 190.

He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) His work has also been honored with numerous awards including the Millennium Pharmaceuticals Innovator Award (2003), the J. Taylor International Prize in Medicine (2004), the AUR Memorial Award,[2] the ARRS President's Award,[3] The Society for Molecular Imaging Lifetime Achievement Award, the Academy of Molecular Imaging 2006 Distinguished Basic Scientist Award,[4] the 2008 RSNA Outstanding Researcher Award[5] and the 2011 European Society of Radiology Gold Medal.[6]

MGH Center for Systems Biology