MRI pulse sequence development · CMRR, University of Minnesota
I design, program and validate custom pulse sequences on Siemens scanners, from parallel-transmit multiband EPI to high-resolution diffusion. Then I run them on people, phantoms and ex vivo samples until they work.
What I do
I work at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) as the technical lead on imaging projects for several research groups. I decide how each one gets implemented, write the code, test it, and keep it working until the data are collected.
Custom pulse sequences in Siemens IDEA on the VE and XA software lines: parallel transmit, multiband, SAR handling, and porting sequences between software versions.
I check whether a project is feasible, define its scope, pick the implementation approach and deliver working sequences on grant timelines, for several PIs at once.
I optimize protocols at 3T, 7T and 10.5T and am a scanner operator for collaborators' studies, with in vivo and multi-day ex vivo sessions.
I deploy online reconstruction with OpenRecon, work with Siemens to troubleshoot, and write the documentation other people need to run new methods on their own.
Selected work
At 7T and above, B1 inhomogeneity causes signal dropout in regions like the temporal lobes and cerebellum. I build parallel-transmit into sequences, so research groups can recover signal where standard transmit modes fall short.
Sub-millimetre, HCP-style diffusion protocols on the 7T Terra.X. They are built for multi-subject studies, where every session has to produce usable data.
When scanners move from the VE to the XA software line, custom sequences don't just recompile. I port them to the new IDEA architecture, including RF pulses and SAR handling, so ongoing studies can continue on upgraded systems.
When a product EPI doesn't quite fit a study, I adapt the sequence, so the acquisition fits the scientific question and not the other way round.
I bring custom reconstruction code onto the scanner with Siemens OpenRecon. That means checking hardware and licensing, coordinating with Siemens, and debugging until the images come back at the console.
I operate the scanner for collaborators' fMRI studies at 7T and 10.5T, from auditory paradigms to whole-brain resting state. I also measure how sequence settings and RF coils affect acoustic noise and image quality.
Publications
From magnetic particle imaging and cardiac MRI to layer-specific fMRI at 7T and 10.5T. Pulled from my ORCID record.
Imaging Neuroscience
DOI: 10.1162/imag_a_00477International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
DOI: undefinedToolbox
Background
I'm a medical engineer working in ultra-high-field MRI. I care most about the step between an idea on paper and data you can trust. I like work where the physics, the code and the person in the scanner all have to cooperate.
Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), University of Minnesota. Pulse sequence development and technical project lead at 3T, 7T and 10.5T.
Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Glasgow, UK. Sequences for sub-millimetre 7T fMRI to study how cortical layers interact during perception.
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain. Development of novel quantitative medical imaging techniques for MPI and MRI