Having completed my Ph.D., in which I studied BOLD fMRI signal transients with different imaging modalities, I broadened my scientific expertise further by undertaking postdoctoral training in the related but distinct field of MRS methods. I sought to utilize MR imaging and MR spectroscopy (MRS) to identify biomarkers for various neurodegenerative diseases. During my postdoctoral training at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, I developed advanced 3 and 7 Tesla MRS sequences recommended by the Experts’ Working Group on Advanced Single Voxel MRS. I undertook the first studies to quantify neurochemical profiles from various brain regions at 7T, focusing on metabolites of interest in neurological disorders. I also applied these methods to the preclinical scanner to detect neurochemical changes before overt pathology in a spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 mouse model. During my role as the Principal Investigator at the University of Oxford and Assistant Professor at Purdue University, my efforts resulted in many advancements in the field of the MRI and MRSI, such as developing density-weighted concentric ring trajectory, a novel ultra-short echo time 3D Rosette MRI and MRSI techniques. The experience and qualifications outlined above demonstrate the skills to develop, validate and optimize protocols at various magnetic field strengths and reliably measure and quantify MR images. As such, my recent efforts have developed the novel ultrashort echo time (UTE) 3D Rosette MRI and MRSI sequences working on human and animal scanners ranging from 3T to 9.4T, resulting in unprecedented image quality and acceleration compared to the radial UTE correspondents. Since the clinical applicability of the novel method depends upon the test-retest reproducibility, I led a project for ISMRM 2023, “Repeat it with me challenge,” and successfully demonstrated an excellent use of Rosette MR(S)I in a multicenter study that “after 40 years, modern technology means clinical 31P MRs is finally feasible”. I will also lead the 23NA MRI using UTE 3D Rosette reproducibility challenge. The superiority of the UTE approach using the novel Rosette kspace trajectory motivates me to apply these advancements in fMRI. These approaches will complement each other and result in unprecedented spatial and temporal information. They will be a springboard in neuroimaging by providing very high-resolution spatiotemporal dynamics of neural networks. I have a strong working knowledge of multi-echo MRI (MRSI) and will develop, test, explore and investigate detecting functional signals in humans.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/uzay.emir.1/bibliography/public/
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