Zoltan Kovacs

Zoltan Kovacs, Ph.D., is a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center specializing in the design and synthesis of hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and radiopharmaceutical probes. His work focuses on enhancing sensitivity for nuclei other than ¹H through dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), particularly developing ¹³C-, ⁸⁹Y-, and ^107/109Ag-based tracers to study metabolic pathways in healthy and diseased tissues. Key applications include pH, temperature, and redox state sensing via hyperpolarized complexes. Dr. Kovacs' research bridges chemistry and clinical imaging, with contributions to noninvasive cardiac phenotyping and tumor metabolism analysis.

Research interests emphasize hyperpolarized MRI agent design, DNP techniques, and their translation to in vivo studies. Recent work explores glial metabolism, ketoglutarate dehydrogenase activity, and signal amplification methods like SABRE. His studies often address challenges in maintaining spin polarization and optimizing tracer stability for clinical relevance.

Publications span over a decade, with a focus on yttrium and silver complexes, gadolinium-based contrast agents, and metabolic imaging applications. Collaboration with clinical teams ensures translational impact on oncology, cardiology, and neurology diagnostics.