About
Dr. Talissa Altes is professor and chair of radiology at the University of Missouri. She is a practicing pediatric radiologist with a research interest in lung imaging. For over 15 years, Dr. Altes has been an active researcher in the field of hyperpolarized gas MRI. She pioneered the application of this technique to a variety of lung diseases including asthma, cystic fibrosis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (also known as chronic lung disease of prematurity). Together with the University of Virginia MRI physicist collaborators, her lab pioneered a number of hyperpolarized gas imaging techniques including diffusion weighted imaging and direct dissolved phase imaging. Dr. Altes has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, foundations and industry. She has over 90 publications and has given over 90 invited talks.
Education & Training
Medical School
University of Washington
Internship
Diagnostic Radiology
- University of Virginia School of Medicine
Residency
Diagnostic Radiology
- University of Virginia School of Medicine
Fellowship
Pediatric Radiology
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Radiology, Body Imaging
- University of Virginia
Boards
Commercial Relationships and Collaborations
This faculty member or a member of his or her immediate family has a working relationship, such as providing consulting, research, or educational services, with the companies listed below. These relationships have been reported to the University of Missouri and, if appropriate, plans have been established to address potential conflicts. The following relationships were reported as of July 2020.
- Phillips Healthcare, Inc
- Xemed, LLC
- Polarean
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Insurances
MU Health Care participates with most major managed care organizations. To find out whether MU Health Care is a participating provider in your insurance plan or network, or for information on co-payments and deductibles, please contact your insurance carrier directly.
In the News
Academic Information
Research Profile
For children with cystic fibrosis (CF), the lungs are compromised early in the disease by abnormal mucus production. Unable to expel the thick mucus, children with CF frequently suffer bouts of pneumonia. The chronic and progressive disease leads to a significantly shortened life. Although there is no cure, drug therapies offer hope for patients suffering from CF.
But testing the effectiveness of these drug therapies has been problematic in young children. Altes, who chairs the Department of Radiology at the MU School of Medicine, has found that using hyperbolized gas in MRI monitoring, enables the drugs to be tested much more accurately. Altes, who has been a pioneer in the field of using contrast hyperpolarized gas in MRIs, was inducted as a fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Through her work, pediatric lung disease and defects can be assessed at a much earlier age.
Altes lectures widely and has published more than 80 articles and book chapters. She reviews grants for the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Research Interests
- Pediatric imaging
Areas of Expertise
- Pediatric imaging
Awards & Honors
- 1999: Executive Council Award II for a paper by a member-in-training at the American Roentgen Ray Society, $1000
- 1999: Merit Award from the University of Virginia, Department of Biomedical Engineering for Accomplished Research, $1000
- 2000: ISMRM, Young Investigators' Award, W.S. Moore Award in Clinical Science, $1500
- 2001: RSNA Fellows Research Trainee Prize $1000
- 2003: Nominated for Clinical Service Award Department of Radiology University of Virginia
- 2009: Nominated for Clinical Service Award Department of Radiology University of Virginia
- 2011: Received Clinical Service Award Department of Radiology University of Virginia
- 2014: Received Teaching Award Department of Radiology University of Virginia