This is an application requesting support for the first Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Tissue Microstructure Imaging. The goal of the proposed GRC is to provide a wide forum for scientific exchange among scientists whose primary area of research is the determination of tissue microstructure using non- invasive imaging methods such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US), positron emission tomography (PET) and optical methods. Quantitative imaging such as quantitative ultrasound or MRI has been an area of active research for decades; however, only recently, thanks to methodological and technological advances, the field matured to warrant a dedicated scientific meeting. The relevance of this area of research has been recently accentuated by multiple publications in high-quality journals such as Nature, PNAS and Science, and several aspects of tissue microstructure imaging have been presented during plenary sessions at large international scientific meetings. This meeting will cover an array of topics spanning the use of imaging in cells, animals, and humans; addressing both basic research and clinical concerns. Particular emphases will be placed on just emerging technological, biological, and health related issues that will significantly impact the growth of this remarkable imaging field. The first Conference will be held July 7 - 12, 2019, at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA. The Chair of the first Conference is Greg J Stanisz, PhD, Senior Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and Professor at the Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto; the Vice-Chair is Dmitry Novikov, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology, New York School of Medicine, New York, NY. The Conference will include scientific sessions (each with two to three speakers and a discussion leader), poster sessions and discussions designed to facilitate close interaction between the participants. By design, GRC meetings are small by conventional standards (approximately 150-200 participants) but participants will be invited/recruited in a manner to encourage/ensure attendance by a diverse group of junior and senior investigators representing academic and government institutions and individuals from corporate research programs. Students and postdoctoral fellows will be encouraged to attend. Junior investigators will be included in the oral presentations. The support requested herein will be used to facilitate the attendance (conference fees and/or travel costs) of junior investigators (emphasis on women, minorities, and the disabled).
Support is requested for the first Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on 'Tissue Microstructure Imaging' (July 7 - 12, 2019). In recent years there has been a growing interest in probing changes in tissue microstructure, not only as a diagnostic marker of disease but also as a measure of treatment response to various therapies This meeting will emphasize just emerging technological and biological issues that will significantly impact the growth and application of this remarkable imaging field.
