The neuroimaging and Modulation Laboratory (NIMLAB) investigates neural correlates of cognition and behavior using neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We are looking in depth at the contributions of the cerebellum and cerebro-cerebellar circuits to cognition; the effects of chronic heavy alcohol consumption on cognition and brain activation underlying cognitive function; how aging in humans affects neural systems that are important for associative learning and stimulus awareness; and the integration of transcranial magnetic stimulation with functional MRI.

How do we see, hear, and think? More specifically, how can we study living people to understand how the brain sees, hears, and thinks? Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a powerful anatomical imaging technique widely used for clinical diagnosis, was further developed into a tool for probing brain function. By sensitizing magnetic resonance images to the changes in blood oxygenation that occur when regions of the brain are highly active, we can make ""movies"" that reveal the brain at work. Dr. Pekar works on the development and application of this MRI technology. Dr. Pekar is a biophysicist who uses a variety of magnetic resonance techniques to study brain physiology and function. Dr. Pekar serves as Manager of the F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, a research resource where imaging scientists and neuroscientists collaborate to study brain function using unique state-of-the-art techniques in a safe comfortable environment, to further develop such techniques, and to provide training and education. Dr. Pekar works with center staff to serve the center's users and to keep the center on the leading edge of technology.

Dr. Zhou's research focuses on developing new in vivo MRI and MRS methodologies to study brain function and disease. His most recent work includes absolute quantification of cerebral blood flow, quantification of functional MRI, high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), magnetization transfer mechanism, development of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) technology, brain pH MR imaging, and tissue protein MR imaging. Notably, Dr. Zhou and his colleagues invented the amide proton transfer (APT) approach for brain pH imaging and tumor protein imaging. His initial paper on brain pH imaging was published in Nature Medicine in 2003 and his most recent paper on tumor treatment effects was published in Nature Medicine in 2011. A major part of his current research is the pre-clinical and clinical imaging of brain tumors, strokes, and other neurologic disorders using the APT and other novel MRI techniques. The overall goal is to achieve the MRI contrast at the protein and peptide level without injection of exogenous agents and improve the diagnostic capability of MRI and the patient outcomes.

The Pathak lab is within the Division of Cancer Imaging Research in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science. We develop novel imaging methods, computational models and visualization tools to ‘make visible’ critical aspects of cancer, stroke and neurobiology. Our research broadly encompasses the following areas: Functional and Molecular Imaging; Clinical Biomarker Development; Image-based Systems Biology and Visualization and Computational Tools. We are dedicated to mentoring the next generation of imagers, biomedical engineers and visualizers. Additional information can be found at www.pathaklab.org or by emailing Dr. Pathak.