During residency, Dr. Sirlin dedicated one year to research on musculoskeletal MR imaging of cartilage transplants and another year to contrast-enhanced US imaging of atherosclerosis and liver tumors. Dr. Sirlin also completed several research projects on US imaging of abdominal trauma, CT imaging of non-traumatic abdominal emergencies, and CT and MR imaging of pulmonary embolism. During his first two years as assistant professor, Dr. Sirlin developed transducible molecules for tumor imaging. Dr. Sirlin’s subsequent research has focused on MR imaging of liver cancer and diffuse liver disease. He has published more than 30 papers, 5 book chapters, 65 scientific abstracts, and 50 educational exhibits, and he reviews for 5 scientific journals. Dr. Sirlin is also a dedicated teacher and mentor; in the last four years, he has supervised over 30 undergraduates, medical students, residents, and fellows in clinical imaging research.

Dr. Sirlin has received several awards, including NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) (2003), the American Roentgen Ray Society Scholarship Award (2002), Stanford Radiology Fellow Teaching Award (2001), the Elliot C. Lasser Award for Excellence in Research (2000), Radiological Society of North America Research Roentgen Research Awards (1998 and 1999), the Radiological Society of North America Research Resident Award (1996), Alpha Omega Alpha (1992), Phi Beta Kappa (1987), and John Harvard Scholarships (1984, 1986, and 1987). His educational exhibits at the Radiological Society of North America and American Roentgen Ray Society have won 17 Cum Laudes and Certificate of Merits. Dr. Sirlin was a competitive rower in college and was a national collegiate champion in 1987. He received the Harvard Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award in 1987 and was elected into the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 2004, Dr. Sirlin formed the UCSD Liver Imaging Group to develop new techniques (pulse sequences, protocols, and post-processing methods) for liver imaging. In twelve months, the Liver Imaging Group has grown from three to over ten members, and now includes Drs. Graeme Bydder and Michael Middleton (radiology co-investigators), as well as project scientists, research fellows, research assistants, radiology residents, and medical students. The Group actively collaborates with hepatologists, liver surgeons, pathologists, and biostatisticians on several clinical and animal research studies. Specific areas of interest are liver cancer and diffuse liver disease (fibrosis, fat, and inflammation).