Event
ME Lecture - MRI: From Structure to Function
Friday, November 7, 2008
11:00 a.m.
2164 Glenn L. Martin Hall
Professor Jaydev Desai
301 405 4427
jaydev@umd.edu
MRI: From Structure to Function
Dr. Rao Gullapalli, Associate Professor
Department of Radiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Abstract:
In a very short period of time since its invention in the early 1970s, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has become a standard and a very important tool among the armament of diagnostic tools available for the clinicians. MRI has been mainly used for its ability to provide exquisite soft tissue contrast structural images for diagnosing various diseases. However, its use is ever expanding in the area of functional imaging. From its largely anatomical beginnings where structures could be easily visualized, MRI is currently used for assessing cardiac function, blood perfusion changes, tissue metabolic characteristics, staging of tumors, studying brain function and a host of other dynamic processes non-invasively. Many of these innovations have come to fruition due to successful collaborations between the clinicians, scientists and engineers. This talk will focus on the recent advances in various functional imaging techniques using MRI with applications in cancer research and traumatic brain injury (TBI) research.
Biography:
Dr. Gullapalli received his bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University, India and a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in Instrumental Sciences. He worked as a Clinical Scientist at Picker International, a major manufacturer of medical imaging equipment that is now part of Philips Medical Systems in Cleveland, Ohio. During his tenure at Picker International, Dr Gullapalli had developed several novel imaging techniques that are widely used.
Dr. Gullapalli joined the Department of Radiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine in August of 1996. His research focuses on developing new imaging techniques that facilitate functional imaging of brain and other organs. He is actively involved in understanding age related changes in the resting state networks of the motor and somoatosensory areas of the brain. Dr. Gullapalli is also involved in developing novel techniques to diagnose and stage tumors through the application of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. He is in the process of completing a study on sensitivity and specificity improvements in prostate cancer diagnosis through multispectral imaging that was sponsored by the Department of Defense. More recently he has been very interested in understanding the sequelea of traumatic brain injury and has developed novel imaging markers that correlate with the clinical status of the patient. He has several national and international publications, along with twelve patents in the area of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. He is a recipient of several grant awards and is currently an investigator and co-investigator on a few NIH grants in the area of functional brain imaging. He has also been supported by the Radiology Society of North America, NIH and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for Prostate Cancer and traumatic brain injury research.
The Design and Reliability of Systems (DRS) Division within the Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to host this lecture.
