Quantitative Magnetresonanztomographie als Schlüsseltechnologie in den Lebenswissenschaften

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ingolf Sack
• Subject Area: Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
• Term: from 2019 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 412741675

The biophysical properties of biological tissues are key to our understanding of various pathophysiological processes. Insight into these properties will open up possibilities for longterm disease control and the development of new diagnostic tools or even of curative therapies. Magnetic resonance (MR) technologies hold a unique position among medical imaging methods: they can answer both clinical-diagnostic and fundamental research questions. MR imaging (MRI) and MR spectroscopy are exceptionally useful tools for addressing a wide range of scientific questions - from molecular mechanisms to multiscale biophysical interactions in living tissues. In radiological routine, MRI is used predominantly as a nonquantitative imaging modality for the visual analysis of pathological organ changes. However, it imposes fundamental challenges in daily routine such as long training times, uncertain diagnoses, and limited comparability of MR images in multicenter studies and follow-up examinations. The planned workshop ‘Nachwuchsakademie Medizintechnik (NAMT)’ will introduce young scientists to the field of quantitative MRI and make them aware of the potential of measuring and analyzing biophysically based and quantitative tissue parameters. The goal of the workshop is to get excellent young scientists interested in the further development of quantitative MRI as a key technology for the identification and validation of constitutive and system-independent tissue parameters. The gain in knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of disease-specific biochemical and biophysical mechanisms and will improve diagnosis and therapies. Importantly, the NAMT workshop will enable young scientists to develop their own independent research profiles early in their careers and to establish professional networks with experts from academic institutions and industry. The interdisciplinary interaction between experts in life sciences, mathematics, informatics, and medicine will foster the implementation of improved quantitative MRI methods in clinical routine. The workshop also includes a training in proposal writing and project management, aimed at enabling young scientists to successfully acquire third-party research funding without a long learning phase. It mainly targets students in the final phase of their PhD projects as well as young postdoctoral scientists.

• DFG Programme: Workshops for Early Career Investigators