Peter Caravan, Ph.D.

Peter Caravan, PhD, is co-director of the Institute for Innovation in Imaging (I3) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. He leads a multidisciplinary and translational molecular imaging lab focused on the invention of novel molecular probes and their broad applications in cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal and hepatic diseases, as well as in cancers.  His research spans novel chemistry technologies from advanced MRI and PET imaging in animal models to applications in patient populations. He holds Investigational New Drug (IND) applications for a fibrin-targeted PET tracer and a collagen-targeted PET tracer that are currently being evaluated in over 10 clinical trials. He has invented molecular probes specific to fibrogenesis, acidosis, inflammation and thrombosis, as well as gadolinium-free MR contrast agents.

Dr. Caravan received a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of British Columbia. Following postdoctoral work at the EPFL (Switzerland), he spent 9 years at Epix Pharmaceuticals developing tissue-specific and responsive MRI contrast agents, one of which, gadofosveset, was approved by the FDA and the EMA. He co-invented EP-2104R, which was the first molecularly targeted MRI contrast agent to enter clinical trials, and RVP-001, a manganese-based general purpose MRI contrast agent currently in clinical development. Since joining MGH in 2007, he has been continuously funded by the NIH.