This application seeks support for a comprehensive postdoctoral training program in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) at Vanderbilt University which will be provided by an experienced and expert group of faculty and research staff. MR methods are well established as amongst the most powerful and widespread of biomedical imaging techniques yet major advancements in technology and increases in their impact continue to occur. MR methods serve not only as the single most important modality in diagnostic imaging but also provide crucial insights into biological processes and structure to address fundamental questions in biomedical research. Advanced MR systems for research are available at a large number of medical centers, and further advances in their uses will occur inevitably as systems with stronger field magnets become more widespread. There is, however, a shortage and a critical need for appropriately trained scientists capable of exploiting the potential of MR techniques, who are aware of the uses and limitations of MR methods, and of how MRI/MRS may be implemented, advanced, and integrated with information available from other modalities. We propose a comprehensive training program designed for 8 outstanding postdoctoral scientists (4 in each of a two-year program) who will usually have had little previous significant experience in biomedical MRI and MRS. Postdoctoral trainees from physics, chemistry, biology, engineering or medicine will receive thorough and exemplary instruction in all of the cognate areas relevant to biomedical NMR in a coherent program that includes 18 Ph.D faculty experienced in biomedical MRI/S and their applications. This will be accomplished through an educational program, consisting of courses, seminars, and journal clubs; a practical program, consisting of faculty-led tutorials and practical training; and a research program, in which trainees will be integrated into an active research program. These programs illustrate most major aspects of the applications of MR methods in humans and animals and include functional and structural brain imaging, cancer biology, studies of basic relaxation phenomena and diffusion, blood flow and perfusion, metabolic imaging, image processing and analysis, and clinical MRS and MRI. Trainees will have access to outstanding facilities including human MR systems with field strengths of 1.5, 3, and 7T; animal MR systems of 4.7, 7, and 9.4T; and other imaging modalities (including optical imaging, microCT, and microPET). Trainees will be mentored in the ethics and methods of biomedical research, as well as in grant writing and other important career skills. The programs, personnel, and facilities at Vanderbilt provide unique opportunities for scientists to receive advanced training in biomedical NMR of the highest caliber, and will help to ensure that the remarkable insights into biology and disease that are possible with MRI and MRS will be realized.
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