Azra Alizad

Dr. Azra Alizad is a Professor at Mayo Clinic with joint appointments in the Department of Radiology and Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering. She holds academic ranks as Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Radiology. Her medical education includes an MD from Tehran University Medical School, residency in Pediatrics, and fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Her research develops novel ultrasound techniques for cancer diagnosis and tissue characterization. Primary focus areas include:

• Microvasculature imaging using high-frame-rate ultrasound without contrast agents
• Elasticity imaging techniques (low-frequency elastography, shear wave elastography) for tissue stiffness analysis
• Nonlinear elastography for breast cancer biomarkers
• Quantitative ultrasound for infant bone health monitoring
• Deep learning applications for automated classification of breast/thyroid lesions

Her publications demonstrate strong focus on deep learning-driven ultrasound innovations for cancer diagnostics, particularly in microvascular imaging, treatment response prediction, and automated lesion classification using contemporary AI methodologies.

Scientific Awards & Honors:

• Elected Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2014-present)
• Chartered Member, NIH/NIBIB Medical Imaging Study Section (2013-present)
• Elected Fellow, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (2012-present)
• AACR-MICR Award Committee Member (2011-present)

Her research program maintains continuous NIH funding since 2005. Current grants include:

• Contrast-free ultrasound assessment of peripheral arterial disease (NHLBI, 2024-2025)
• Ultrasound evaluation of detrusor dysfunction (NIDDK, 2022-2024)
• Acoustic assessment of metabolic bone disease in infants (NIAMS, 2019-2021)
• Label-free ultrasound angio-morphometry for breast cancer (NCI, 2019-2024)

She leads collaborative teams developing translational ultrasound technologies at Mayo Clinic's Radiology and Biomedical Engineering divisions.