Neil Rofsky, M.D.

Biography

Neil Rofsky, M.D., is Professor and Chair of UT Southwestern’s Department of Radiology and the Effie and Wofford Cain Distinguished Chair in Diagnostic Imaging. Dr. Rofsky also serves as Co-Director of Translational Research for the Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC), a collaboration of UT Southwestern and the University of Texas at Dallas. As Chair of Radiology, he also leads efforts to rapidly bring the benefits of new technologies, including some developed at the AIRC, into clinical practice.

A native of New York, Dr. Rofsky received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Maryland and his medical degree from New York Medical College. He then completed an internship in internal medicine at Middlesex University Hospital; a fellowship in nuclear medicine at the University of Utah Medical Center; a residency in radiology at the New York University Medical Center; and fellowships in abdominal imaging and magnetic resonance imaging at New York University Medical Center, where he was mentored by Morton Bosniak, Alec Megibow, and Jeffrey Weinreb.

Before joining the faculty of UT Southwestern, Dr. Rofsky served as Chief of MRI at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, and as Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Rofsky concentrates his research on translating innovations in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy into clinical practice. His current studies emphasize developing MRI techniques to improve detection and evaluation of prostate cancer and to better guide treatment.

In his research, Dr. Rofsky seeks to apply MRI techniques such as arterial spin labeling (ASL) to measure blood flow in prostate and renal cell carcinomas. Since blood flow can reflect the viability of a tumor, these measurements can offer valuable insights into the potential aggressiveness of tumors and the effectiveness of treatments.

Dr. Rofsky and his collaborators have also pioneered the use of rapid contrast-agent-enhanced three-dimensional diagnostic imaging of the abdomen. Such rapid imaging is important because it enables clinicians to obtain high-resolution 3-D images during the brief time that a patient can hold a single breath, reducing the artifacts from respiratory and other motions.

Dr. Rofsky serves as an active member of the Board of Trustees of the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance (SCBTMR) and recently finished serving on the Board of Trustees of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, several textbooks, and presents regularly at such medical societies as the Radiological Society of North America, the ISMRM and the SCBTMR.  Just recently he delivered a plenary lecture to the ISMRM entitled, The Evolution of the MR Biomarker.

Trained as a classical musician, Dr. Rofsky is an oboist who appreciates the art and science of shaping the instrument’s reeds, which give it its unique sound. He also enjoys playing guitar, including numerous acoustic and electric instruments, and is the proud owner of a Steinway Model A Grand Piano built in 1884.