Abstract
"Human Brain Stiffness: From Cognitive Neuroscience to the Clinic"
Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive imaging technique for measuring material properties of in vivo tissues. MRE at the Beckman Institute has focused on technical development of advanced MR imaging and material stiffness estimation algorithms and researchers continue to push the state-of-the-art for image resolution. Further, research at Beckman has pioneered the application of MRE to the study of cognitive neuroscience and leads the field in exploring and understanding structure-function relationships. Finally, through the institute’s collaboration with Carle Foundation Hospital, MRE has now been applied to novel patient populations and shows promise for significant contributions to early detection of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, changes to treatment and surgical planning.
Speaker biographies
Aaron Anderson is expected to complete his Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics at the University of Illinois in May. He has been named a 2018 Carle Foundation Hospital-Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow with a focus on improved material estimation for magnetic resonance elastography.
Hillary Schwarb is a visiting research scientist in the Biomedical Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute. She is a cognitive neuroscientist who uses neuroimaging tools to understand the structure and function of the memory systems of the brain. Hillary earned a Ph.D. in cognitive and brain sciences from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2012.
Dr. Graham Huesmann is a research assistant professor in molecular and integrative physiology, and of neuroscience, and a faculty affiliate at the Beckman Institute. He is the course director for neurology and neurology clerkships as an inaugural faculty member of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. He also is the head of epilepsy and an attending neurologist at Carle Foundation Hospital. He holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and an M.D. from Illinois. He completed his residency in neurology, and postdoc and fellowship in epilepsy at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
