Dr. Frank Prato
Full Name
Dr. Frank S. Prato
Role
Degrees and Qualifications
PhD, FCCPM, ABMP, FCOMP, FURSI, FCAHS

Contact Information

Phone
519-646-6100
Extension
64140
Email
Research Overview

Over the last 30 years I have founded a research imaging program at Lawson that currently includes 23 Ph.Ds. and 7 MDs. The focus is to provide leading edge medical imaging technology to the patients of Southwestern Ontario, to citywide researchers and to foster what is needed for clinical trials. We have had a rich history including: first MRI in Canada (1982), first perfusion CT in the world (2000), first PET/CT in Canada (2002), first PET/MRI in Canada (2012).

In the last decade we have introduced PET technology to London including a medical cyclotron and radiochemistry facility that supplies Health Canada approved products to London, Toronto and Windsor. We are a hospital based research program and as such we have a stewardship responsibility to our patients to provide the best medical imaging facilities to guide their treatment and when they reach the limits of proven treatment methods they have the option to enroll in clinical trials that explore new treatment approaches.

Biography
Since founding the Lawson Imaging Research Program in the 1980s Frank Prato has led the introduction of a number of new imaging technologies here in London. For example in 1982 his laboratory produced the first human MRI in Canada. Since 2002 Frank has focused on the introduction of new molecular imaging methods including the establishment of advanced positron emission tomography (PET) facilities in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In 2012 the Lawson Imaging Research team installed Canada’s first human hybrid PET/MRI at Lawson’s St. Joseph’s Hospital site. Currently Frank is involved in the PET/MRI imaging of neuro-degenerative diseases caused by dementia and mental illness as well as in the study of cardiac diseases that lead to heart failure. Frank’s focus is to improve early diagnosis of disease to limit disability caused by chronic disease/conditions. Frank’s program is located within the hospital/patient environment as Imaging research is an essential part of the patient care continuum.
 

Scientific Record


  • 6113 life time citations, h-index = 45 (Scopus)
  • 10,624 life time citations, h-index = 58 (Google Scholar)
  • 300+ peer-reviewed publications (222 papers)
  • 700+ conference abstracts
  • 184 invited presentations
  • 67 graduate students and PDFs
  • 14 patents and 4 spin-off companies