Contact
Office
(434) 924-0020
Location
MR5, 2316
Lab
MR5, 2214 and 2216 ​PO Box 800759, Health System

Richard J. Price, Ph.D.

Nancy and Neal Wade Professor of Engineering & Applied Science Professor, Biomedical Engineering Co-Director of the UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center
Contact
Office
(434) 924-0020
Location
MR5, 2316
Lab
MR5, 2214 and 2216 ​PO Box 800759, Health System
Price Lab Website UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center Google Scholar

About

Dr. Price's research program centers on the development and implementation of image-guided drug and gene delivery systems for treating cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Several lines of investigation in the lab are derived from seminal studies demonstrating that microbubble activation with ultrasound can enable the delivery of therapeutic drug- and gene-bearing nanoparticles across endothelial barriers under MR image-guidance. Other projects in the lab investigate how minimally-invasive focused ultrasound energy deposition into solid tumors may be optimally combined with immunotherapy to treat metastatic disease. Research in this space supports ongoing UVA clinical trials for metastatic breast cancer and other solid malignancies. In his role as Research Director of the UVA Focused Ultrasound Center, he leads an institution-wide effort to identify, investigate, and translate new focused ultrasound applications.

Education

B.S. ​Rochester Institute of Technology, 1990

Ph.D. ​University of Virginia, 1995

The Price Laboratory develops image-guided drug and gene delivery approaches for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and cerebral cavernomas.

Research Interests

Drug and Gene Delivery
Medical and Molecular Imaging
Biomechanics and Mechanobiology
Cardiovascular Engineering

Selected Publications

Focused Ultrasound-Microbubble Treatment Arrests the Growth and Formation of Cerebral Cavernous Malformations. Nat Biomed Eng. 9:1531-1546. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-025-01390-z. 2025. Fisher, D.G., K.A. Sharifi, I.M. Shah, C.M. Gorick, V.B., A.C. Debski, M.R. Hoch, T. Cruz, J.D. Samuels, D. Schlesinger, J. Sheehan, D. Moore, J.R. Lukens, G.W. Miller, P. Tvrdik, and R.J. Price
Computational Fluid Dynamic Model Prediction of Enhanced Glymphatic Clearance in Response to Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Blood-Brain Barrier Opening. Advanced Science. e10684. DOI: 10.1002/advs.202510684. 2025 Gladwell, R.A., D.G. Fisher, J.D. Wythe, C.B. Highley, J.R. Lukens, and R.J. Price
Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping Reveals Size-Dependent Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Therapeutic Delivery to Naïve Brain and Gliomas in Mice. Radiology. In Press. 2025 Hoch, M.R., V.R. Breza, G.W. Miller, and R.J. Price
Focused Ultrasound Augments the Delivery and Penetration of Model Therapeutics into Cerebral Cavernous Malformations. J. Cont. Rel. 383:113861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2025.113861. 2025. Fisher, D.G., M.R. Hoch, C.M. Gorick, C. Huchthausen, V.R. Breza, K.A. Sharifi, P. Tvrdik, G.W. Miller, and R.J. Price
Boiling Histotripsy Monotherapy Yields Abscopal Melanoma Control and Drives Dendritic Cell Activation and Acquisition of Tumor Antigen. Theranostics. DOI: 10.7150/thno.92089. 2024. Thim, E.A., L.E. Petricca, F. Rivera-Escalera, A.S. Mathew, M.R. Elliot, T.N.J Bullock, and R.J. Price

Courses Taught

BME 2220 Biomechanics
BME 2102 Physiology II

Awards

Council of Distinguished Investigators; Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research 2025
Fellow of the Controlled Release Society 2021
Jorge Heller Award for Most Outstanding Paper in Journal of Controlled Release 2015
Fellow of the American Institue of Medical and Biological Engineering 2015

In The News

  • UVA’s Focused Ultrasound Innovation Summit Convenes Researchers, Practitioners and Patients for Interactive Exchange

    UVA, a global leader in research on focused ultrasound technology, which is used to treat cancer, Parkinson’s and other diseases, hosted its inaugural Innovation Summit.

    Read Now

  • Focused Sound Energy Holds Promise for Treating Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Other Diseases


    Biomedical engineering professor Richard Price explains how focused ultrasound can work around the body’s defenses that make some diseases notoriously difficult to treat.

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  • UVA Innovation Offers Hope for Safer Brain Lesion Treatment

    UVA biomedical engineer says UVA’s investment in focused ultrasound technology led to a discovery that halts brain lesion growth and redefines noninvasive treatment potential.

    Read Now