Dr. Hyder studies brain energy metabolism. He hypothesizes that mapping metabolic dysfunction (e.g., how much of energy reserves are used for cellular function vs. cell proliferation) can indicate early biomarkers of brain disorders and disease. To map brain’s physiology and chemistry with MRI and MRS advances and targeted delivery and monitoring of treatments, his laboratory conducts multidisciplinary functional and molecular imaging of neurodegeneration and neurooncology, requiring expertise in physics to chemistry to engineering to cancer biology to neuroscience. His contributions include development of high-resolution fMRI in preclinical models, calibrated fMRI for quantitative imaging of neuronal activity, and molecular imaging methods for pH and temperature mapping and other physiological parameters that are relevant in cancer diagnosis and treatment.