Vasken Dilsizian, MD

Vasken Dilsizian, MD, has been a professor of radiology and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine since 2001, and chief of the division of nuclear medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore since 2007.

He graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1982. This was followed by Internal Medicine residency at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1985, Fellowship in Cardiology at Boston University Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospitals in 1988, and Nuclear Medicine residency at the National Institutes of Health in 1992. He holds a master's (Tau Beta Pi) and bachelor's (Magna Cum Laude) degree in chemical engineering, both from Tufts University. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Nuclear Medicine.

Dilsizian has been involved in many councils, committees, and task forces of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). He was elected as the President of the SNMMI (2019-2020) and served on the Board of Directors as the immediate past president (2020-2021).  He served as the President of the Cardiovascular Council of the SNMMI (2013-2014) and was awarded the 2014 Hermann Blumgart Award and the 2023 Taplin Memorial Lecture Award for his innumerable contributions to the science of nuclear cardiology. He was the SNMMI Henry N. Wagner, Jr. Cardiovascular Nuclear and Molecular Imaging Lecturer in 2014 and 2015. He served on the Board of Directors of ASNC, Vice President of the ASNC (1999-2000), and was the Program Chair of the ASNC 2014 Scientific Sessions.  In 2016, he was bestowed as “Master” of American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (MASNC) for his contribution to the field of nuclear cardiology and for holding senior leadership positions within the Society.  In 2024, he was selected as the recipient of the Mario Verani Memorial Lecture Award, which is considered one of the highest honors bestowed by the ASNC for his outstanding contributions in research, teaching, and providing patient care.  He served as the Chair of the ACC Task Force on clinical competence and training in nuclear cardiology (COCATS 4 – TF6), Vice Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI; 2021-2022) and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center (2022-2024). He is currently serving on the Maryland Board of Physicians (2024-2027) on the committee of Radiation Therapy, Radiography, Nuclear Medicine Technology, and Radiology Assistance.

He spent 13 years at the National Institutes of Health, where he served as the Director of Nuclear Cardiology from 1992 to 2001. His research efforts over the past 35 years have culminated into over 280 original, peer-reviewed manuscripts and invited editorials/articles, 11 books, and 51 book chapters. He has served as a Guest Editor on 5 periodicals and excerpts. He serves as the Deputy Editor of the Journal of American College of Cardiology - Cardiovascular Imaging, Associate Editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Section Editor of Current Cardiology Reports.  He is a co-editor of the “Atlas of Nuclear Cardiology” (now in its 5th edition), “Cardiac CT, PET and MR” (now in its 3rd edition), and the “Atlas of Cardiac Innervation”. He also served as a co-author of the “Nuclear Cardiology” chapter in Braunwald’s Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine (2005-2018).

Clinical Specialty: Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, Nuclear Medicine

Dilsizian V, Rocco TP, Freedman NM, Leon MB, Bonow RO. Enhanced detection of ischemic but viable myocardium by the reinjection of thallium after stress-redistribution imaging. N Engl J Med 1990; 323:141-146.

Dilsizian V, Bonow RO, Epstein SE, Fananapazir L. Myocardial ischemia detected by thallium scintigraphy is frequently related to cardiac arrest and syncope in young patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol 1993; 22:796-804.

Dilsizian V, Bateman TM, Bergmann SR, Des Prez R, Magram M, Goodbody AE, Babich JW, Udelson JE. Metabolic imaging with β-methyl-β²-[123I]-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) identifies ischemic memory following demand ischemia. Circulation 2005;112(14):2169--2174.

Dilsizian V, Eckelman WC, Loredo ML, Jagoda EM, Shirani J. Evidence for tissue angiotensin-converting-enzyme in explanted hearts of ischemic cardiomyopathy using targeted radiotracer technique. J Nucl Med 2007;48:182-187.

Dilsizian V, Zynda TK, Petrov A, Ohshima S, Tahara N, Haider N, Donohue A, Aras O, Fernia F, Hillier S, Joyal J, Wong ND, Coleman T, Babich J, Narula J. Molecular Imaging of Human ACE-1 Expression in Transgenic Rats. J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2012; 5:409-18.

Dilsizian V, Arrighi JA, Cohen RS, Miller TD, Solomon AJ, Udelson JE.  COCATS 4 Task Force 6: Training in Nuclear Cardiology.  J Am Coll Cardiol 2015; 65(17):1800-1809.

Dilsizian V, Bacharach SL, Beanlands SR, Bergmann SR, Delbeke D, Dorbala S, Gropler RJ, Knuuti J, Schelbert H, Travin M. ASNC Imaging Guidelines/SNMMI Procedure Standard for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Nuclear Cardiology Procedures. J Nucl Cardiol 2016 Oct;23(5):1187-226.

Gewirtz H, Dilsizian V.  Integration of Quantitative PET Absolute Myocardial Blood Flow in the Clinical Management of Coronary Artery Disease.  Circulation 2016; 133:2180-96.

Gewirtz H, Dilsizian V.  Myocardial Viability: Survival Mechanisms and Molecular Imaging Targets in Acute and Chronic Ischemia.  Circulation Research 2017; 120:1197-1212.

Kim J, Feller ED, Chen W, Liang Y, Dilsizian V.  FDG PET/CT for Early Detection and Localization of Left Ventricular Assist Device Infection: Impact on Patient Management and Outcome.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2019; 12:722-9.

Schindler TH, Dilsizian V.  Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction: Clinical Considerations and Noninvasive Diagnosis.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2020; 13:140-155.

Chen W, Dilsizian V.  Molecular Imaging of Cardiovascular Device Infection: Targeting the Bacteria or the Host-Pathogen Immune Response?  J Nucl Med 2020; 61:319-26.

Dilsizian V, Gewirtz H, Marwick TH, Kwong RY, Raggi P, Al-Mallah M, Herzog C.  Cardiac Imaging of Coronary Heart Disease Risk Stratification in Chronic Kidney Disease.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2021; 14:669-82.

Al-Mallah M, Dilsizian V.  The impact of Revascularization on Mortality: A Debate on Patient Selection Bias versus Entry Bias.  J Am Coll Cardiol 2022; 80(3):216-8.

Dilsizian V, Budde RPJ, Chen W, Mankad SV, Lindner JR, Nieman K.  Best Practices for Imaging Cardiac Device Related Infections and Endocarditis: A JACC Cardiovascular Imaging Expert Panel Statement.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2022; 15(5):890-911.

Dilsizian V, Chandrashekhar Y.  Molecular Imaging - New Promises.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img  2022;15(11):2019-21.

Schindler TH, Fearon WF, Pelletier-Galarneau M, Ambrosio G, Sechtem U, Ruddy TD, Patel K, Bhatt D, Bateman T, Gewirtz H, Shirani J, Knuuti J, Gropler R, Chareonthaitawee P, Slart R, WIndecker S, Kauffman P, Abraham M, Taqueti V, Camici P, Schelbert H, Dilsizian V.  Myocardial Perfusion PET for the Detection and Reporting of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction: A JACC Cardiovascular Imaging Expert Panel Statement.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2023; 16(4):536-48.

Tarkin JM, Chen W, Dweck MR, Dilsizian V.  Molecular Imaging of Valvular Diseases and Cardiac Device Infection.  Circ Cardiovasc Imaging  2023; 16(1):e014652,

Pelletier-Galarneau M, Dilsizian V.  Shining a Radiant Light on Cardiac Amyloidosis with Novel 124I-Evuzamitide PET Imaging.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2023; 16(11):1449-51.

Dilsizian V, Chandrashekhar Y.  Hybrid Imaging for Better Diagnosis and Treatment Strategies - Hope, Hype and Reality.  J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2024; 17(4):467-9.