Leland Hu MD

Leland S. Hu, M.D., is a leader in neuro-oncological imaging. Dr. Hu's research focuses on the development, validation, and clinical integration of advanced MRI biomarkers to characterize intratumoral heterogeneity, invasion, and treatment response in human brain tumors, specifically glioblastomas.

Dr. Hu leads multidisciplinary imaging-driven research programs that integrate quantitative and physiological MRI, particularly dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion imaging, with image-localized biopsies and spatially matched molecular profiling. His laboratory applies computational and biophysical modeling to link regional imaging phenotypes with tumor biology and microenvironmental states, enabling image-guided assessment of tumor evolution and therapeutic resistance.

Dr. Hu served as principal investigator on multiple National Institutes of Health-funded projects. His projects include two consecutive R01s that aim to establish and validate a consensus dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI protocol for diagnosis and response assessment in high-grade glioma. And they include two concurrent U01s focused on modeling regional imaging-molecular heterogeneity within the invasive glioblastoma microenvironment. These efforts have directly informed multisite clinical trials and standardized imaging workflows in neuro-oncology.

Dr. Hu has held leadership roles in developing imaging guidelines and response assessment frameworks in neuro-oncology for multiple national research organizations. He is also committed to training the next generation of physician-scientists.