| Dr. Fuerst received his Ph.D. in medical physics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison for work investigating dual-energy imaging techniques for quantitative measurements in cardiology. After graduating, Dr. Fuerst joined the faculty of the Department of Radiology, Musculoskeletal Section at the University of California, San Francisco where he served as Director of the DXA Quality Assurance Center and then as Associate Director of the Osteoporosis and Arthritis Research Group (OARG). Dr. Fuerst conducted research in the use of dual x-ray absorptiometry and quantitative ultrasound to assess bone strength and fracture risk. In addition, Dr. Fuerst actively investigated issues affecting the quality of DXA including measurement precision, instrument quality control and instrument calibration. As an active member of the International Committee for Standards in Bone Measurement, he has worked to improve and standardize bone density technology. Dr. Fuerst has consulted with industry and government entities (NIH, NIA, NCHS, State of California) on the use of DXA to evaluate bone mineral density as well as body composition, and he has advised industry on the design and development of new devices for the assessment of bone mineral density. Dr. Fuerst has also devoted a large portion of his career to the design and execution of multi-center clinical trials and observational studies using medical imaging. While at UCSF, Dr. Fuerst successfully coordinated the collection and analysis of imaging data in many international, multi-center clinical trials. These trials ranged in size from small Phase II studies (200 patients recruited at 20 sites) to Phase III mega-trials involving 200 clinical investigator sites with as many as 7,700 patients. In the context of these trials he has developed innovative programs for quality control and central reading of densitometry scans and medical imaging data. As one of the founders of Synarc, Inc., Dr. Fuerst has continued to support osteoporosis clinical trials and worked to develop standardized imaging methods and programs for central quality control and reading in arthritis, orthopedics, oncology and neurology. |