Faculty member

Research Interests

• Methods for MRI and MRS including pulse sequences, RF hardware and image processing.
• Characterization of brain tissue composition or physiology.
• Biophysical processes underlying image contrast.

Available PhD projects

• Orientation dependence of MRI contrast parameters: Many physical properties that can be used for MR-based tissue characterization show an apparent dependence on the orientation of the object in the main magnetic field. An analysis of the underlying physics allows to model these effects for obtaining more specific information on tissue microstructure and composition or achieves a better understanding of image contrast. Another aspect is an integration of machine-learning concepts to support faster acquisition strategies and/or data analysis of orientation-dependent effects.
• Metabolism and neurovascular coupling in activation and deactivation: While blood oxygenation-related contrast is ubiquitously used to map neuronal activation, it does not offer direct insight into the underlying physiology. A direct characterization of the hemodynamic response to activation is obtained from measures of cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume. Metabolic changes can be investigated with spectroscopic techniques at the proton or phosphorus resonance. We use combinations of such techniques to study similarities and differences in the neuroenergetics and neurovascular coupling in activated and deactivated brain areas.