Predoctoral training in medical imaging is a large and vigorous effort at Duke University, drawing chiefly on the resources of the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology. Currently, the program has 42 students and it has granted over 100 PhD's in the past 35 years. Both Departments are poised for significant growth in medical imaging in the next 5 years. The 19 training faculty will provide broad research opportunities with research interests in computer-aided diagnosis, x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, optical imaging methods, and medical physics. Training faculty members are housed in the Pratt School of Engineering, the Department of Radiology, the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, the Center for In Vivo Microscopy, the Center for Molecular Imaging, and the Digital Image Analysis Center. These faculty members have a long history of collaboration in imaging research and graduate student training. Through the proposed Medical Imaging Training Program, we plan to support 10 predoctoral students who will be funded in the first two years of graduate studies. Students will undertake a new comprehensive curriculum providing initially broad training in medical physics and instrumentation followed by increasingly focused coursework in the student s area of specialization. Goals of the training program will be further realized by: 1) a Radiology in Practice course which pairs students with a series of practicing radiologists in various specialties; 2) an Industry Internship Program that places students in research and development facilities and with PhD mentors performing cutting-edge medical imaging system research; 3) a broad, continuing exposure to issues related to Responsible Conduct in Research; 4) a year-long Medical Imaging Seminar Series designed for second year students which will expose students to the wide medical imaging research activities at Duke and other institutions; 5) sponsored student travel to scientific meetings on medical imaging; and 6) an annual retreat where all students present research talks or posters, new faculty are introduced, and students meet with the Training Program's Steering Committee to provide feedback and suggestions.
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