Where Are They Now? Peter Niedbalski, PhD’17

Peter Niedbalski, PhD’17, received his doctorate in physics from The University of Texas at Dallas.

During his time at UT Dallas, he studied dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) under physics Associate Professor Lloyd Lumata. Following his graduation, Peter accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to perform pulmonary imaging research.

Building on the pulmonary MRI methods learned during his post-doc, Peter joined the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center as a Research Assistant Professor in 2020. There, Peter leads the Hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe MRI research core. Peter’s research is focused on developing and applying novel methods of pulmonary MRI. Taking MRI of the lungs is challenging, but recent improvements to Ultrashort Echo Time (UTE) MRI has enabled the acquisition of lung MRI images with contrast and resolution approaching that of CT. Moreover, the use of hyperpolarized gases, particularly ¹²⁹Xe, enables 3D imaging of important facets of lung function, namely ventilation, alveolar airspace size, and gas exchange.

Using principles of MRI and hyperpolarization physics, Peter works to create new and improved methods for acquiring, reconstructing, and analyzing lung MRI data. Additionally, he utilizes these techniques to gain new insights into a variety of lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, COVID-19 and others.