Collaboration Advances Brain Imaging
The Fleischer Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging Laboratory, led by assistant professor Candace Fleischer, PhD, collaborates with researchers across Emory, other academic and health care institutions, and even industry to develop new magnetic resonance-based tools and biomarkers for studying the brain.
Dr. Fleischer and her team of collaborators recently developed a novel algorithm to process data from phased array coils in an MRI scanner to improve clinical application of MR spectroscopy for evaluating brain chemistry. Their groundbreaking work, “Optimized Truncation to Integrate Multi‐Channel MRS Data Using Rank‐R Singular Value Decomposition,” graced the cover of NMR in Biomedicine’s July 2020 issue. The project team included Fleischer Lab’s Dongsuk Sung, whose contributions earned him lead authorship, and Maame Owusu‐Ansah, both biomedical engineering graduate students; Emory biostatistician Benjamin Risk, PhD; Emory Radiology professor Hui Mao, PhD; and Xiaodong Zhong, PhD, senior research and development expert at Siemens Healthcare.
Additionally, the Fleischer Lab recently identified a potential glutamine biomarker to monitor progression of glioma, an aggressive brain cancer. Their findings were recently published by the journal Nature. The team also is collaborating with the Shepherd Center to advance the use of MR thermometry and spectroscopy to better understand brain function in coma patients.
Dr. Fleischer emphasizes collaboration in both her lab and the courses she teaches in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Emory. She also takes seriously her role as a mentor.
“Guiding the next generation of scientists is a humbling and rewarding responsibility. Mentoring and outreach are particularly important now as we deal with the pandemic and also the national reckoning on racism and social justice. Most of my students are non-white, so navigating the reality of persistent racial and social inequality in our country has been a powerful experience, one that’s required us to address tough issues affecting their safety and well-being.”
Dr. Fleischer and her team of collaborators recently developed a novel algorithm to process data from phased array coils in an MRI scanner to improve clinical application of MR spectroscopy for evaluating brain chemistry. Their groundbreaking work, “Optimized Truncation to Integrate Multi‐Channel MRS Data Using Rank‐R Singular Value Decomposition,” graced the cover of NMR in Biomedicine’s July 2020 issue. The project team included Fleischer Lab’s Dongsuk Sung, whose contributions earned him lead authorship, and Maame Owusu‐Ansah, both biomedical engineering graduate students; Emory biostatistician Benjamin Risk, PhD; Emory Radiology professor Hui Mao, PhD; and Xiaodong Zhong, PhD, senior research and development expert at Siemens Healthcare.
Additionally, the Fleischer Lab recently identified a potential glutamine biomarker to monitor progression of glioma, an aggressive brain cancer. Their findings were recently published by the journal Nature. The team also is collaborating with the Shepherd Center to advance the use of MR thermometry and spectroscopy to better understand brain function in coma patients.
Dr. Fleischer emphasizes collaboration in both her lab and the courses she teaches in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Emory. She also takes seriously her role as a mentor.
“Guiding the next generation of scientists is a humbling and rewarding responsibility. Mentoring and outreach are particularly important now as we deal with the pandemic and also the national reckoning on racism and social justice. Most of my students are non-white, so navigating the reality of persistent racial and social inequality in our country has been a powerful experience, one that’s required us to address tough issues affecting their safety and well-being.”