Robert Bok, MD, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and the Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Bok obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois in 1984, and he earned his MD in Medicine from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore in 1989. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 1992, followed by a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology from UCSF in 1996.

At the UCSF Mission Bay Surbeck Laboratory, Dr. Bok provides physician coverage for research on MRI/MRSI scans performed on patients. Dr. Bok’s research activities focuses on the development of better molecular imaging methods for detecting and monitoring prostate cancer. His primary interest is on the use of pre-clinical animal models to improve recent advances in MRSI for prostate cancer. This includes hyperpolarized carbon-13 techniques, high-resolution magic angle spectroscopy, and the use of novel nanoparticles. Dr. Bok and his colleagues are also investigating the use of hyperpolarized 13C-pryuvate in a transgenic mouse model for prostate cancer known as Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate (TRAMP).

Dr. Bok is a current member of the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, the CALGB, the Association of Northern California Oncologists, the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and the World Molecular Imaging Society. He has 60 published science articles and he has written 53 peer-reviewed articles and 90 abstracts.

Expertise:
Oncology

Specialty:
Prostate cancer, TRAMP, nanoparticles

Professional Interests:
Prostate cancer, urologic oncology, molecular imaging, hyperpolarized carbon-13 spectroscopy, high-resolution magic-angle spin spectroscopy, transgenic cancer models, extracellular proteases, metastases, molecular biomarkers

Education and Training:
• Medical School: The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore - Medicine
• Internship: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis - Internal Medicine
• Residency: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis - Internal Medicine
• Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco - Hematology-Oncology
• Doctor of Philosophy: University of Illinois, Urbana - Biochemistry
• Medical License, State of California
• ABIM, Board Certification in Internal Medicine
• ABIM, Board Certification in Medical Oncology
• ACLS Certification