Researchers to study connections of the human brain
Contacts:
Justin Paquette, Academic Health Center, 612-626-7037, jpaquett@umn.edu
Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering, rzurn@umn.edu, (612) 626-7959
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/15/2010)—Researchers at the University of Minnesota will lead a $30 million study designed to map the connections of the human brain.
Kamil Ugurbil, Ph.D., director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) will collaborate with Dr. David Van Essen from the Washington University School of Medicine to lead the Human Connectome Project (HCP). University of Minnesota electrical and computer engineering professor Guillermo Sapiro and others from his department will be heavily involved in the acquisition analysis and modeling of the data collected by the MRI scanners used in the research.
For decades, University of Minnesota CMRR researchers have led the way in developing ultra high-field resonance technology and functional MRI technology used in mapping the brain’s functions. Currently, the CMRR has one of the world’s strongest MR systems: a 16.4 Tesla magnet that accompanies other magnetic resonance systems ranging from 3 Tesla to 9.4 Tesla. During the HCP study, the CMRR will develop new technologies and instrumentation, transfer them to Washington University for use in acquiring 1200 scans and conduct 200 magnetic resonance brain scans in Minneapolis, using its more advanced instruments, contributing to the overall database of the study.
As raw data is collected through the MRI scans used in the Human Connectome Project, the data must be translated in a way that allows researchers to understand and map the connections of the human brain. University of Minnesota researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will develop new algorithms to help researchers infer the connections of the brain and to analyze the data collected during the project.
Researchers from Oxford University, Indiana University, University of California at Berkeley, Warwick University, University d’Annunzio, and the Ernst Strungmann Institute will also participate in this collaborative effort. A second Human Connectome Project grant for $8.5 million has been awarded to a consortium led by investigators at Harvard and UCLA.
“On a scale never before attempted, this highly coordinated effort will use state-of-the-art imaging instruments, analysis tools and informatics technologies – and all of the resulting data will be freely shared with the research community,” said Dr. Michael Huerta of the National Institute of Mental Health, who directs the NIH Connectome initiative.
The grant is funded by multiple branches of the National Institutes of Health via its Blueprint for Neuroscience Research. A total of 33 collaborators from nine research institutions will contribute to the HCP.
To successfully map the complex connections of the human brain, HCP researchers will need powerful, custom-built magnetic resonance imaging scanners and new brain analysis techniques. For decades, CMRR researchers have led the way in developing ultra high-field magnetic resonance technology and in the development of functional MRI methods used in imaging brain function. CMRR investigators will be responsible for the development of new techniques and advanced custom instrumentation for the Connectome project.
The CMRR is closing in on completion of a $53.2 million, 65,000-square-foot expansion that will house one of the world’s largest and most powerful human imaging magnets – a 10.5 Tesla magnet capable of delivering the sharpest images ever seen through magnetic resonance imaging technology. The CMRR expansion is part of a larger investment in the development of the Biomedical Discovery District – a $292 million investment in 400,000 square feet of research space.
Aside from cutting-edge technology, the interdepartmental and interdisciplinary composition of the CMRR will allow University of Minnesota researchers to conduct a share of complex brain scans comprising the study’s overall database while also developing the technology needed to measure, interpret, and model HCP data.
According to Dr. Ugurbil, faculty and researchers from across the University of Minnesota campus will work through the CMRR to advance the HCP.
The following University of Minnesota faculty will be contributing to Human Connectome Project:
Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
Kamil Ugurbil, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
Mike Garwood, Associate Director, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
Essa Yacoub, Associate Professor, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
Noam Harel, Associate Professor, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
Gregor Adriany, Edward Auerbach, John Strupp, and Steen Moeller, Research Associates, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
College of Science and Engineering
Guillermo Sapiro, University of Minnesota Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering