Florida Atlantic University and University MRI have entered into an unprecedented, five-year joint research agreement to propel the University’s focus in the neurosciences and provide researchers with access to the newest imaging technologies available today. University MRI, located in the FAU Research Park on the Boca Raton campus, houses the latest technology in medical imaging including 3T FMRI and MR guided focused ultrasound, typically found in large research facilities and institutions.
The Human Brain Imaging Facility (HBIF) is the brainchild of Fred Steinberg, M.D., medical director of University MRI, and J.A. Scott Kelso, Ph.D., FAU’s eminent scholar in science and founder of FAU’s Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences. Steinberg and Kelso have a long-standing affiliation working together to better understand the structure and function of the human brain in both health and disease. They and their students and colleagues have previously collaborated on various non-invasive brain imaging studies of normal cognitive and motor function as well as studies of mild traumatic brain injury, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and Asperger’s syndrome.
“The ability to understand the human brain and its relation to cognitive function and dysfunction requires precise knowledge of its structure, function and dynamics,” said Steinberg. “As a result of this agreement, FAU researchers and their collaborators will be able to use our machines to get a very unique glimpse into the human brain for a wide range of projects.”
HBIF will enable cutting-edge basic brain research studies to take place with special purpose toolkits for visual displays, movement, and sound recording that are not available on MRI machines in hospitals or radiology clinics. Multiple disciplines including psychology, physiology, neurobiology, physics, statistics, linguistics, communication disorders, education, nursing, medicine, computer science and engineering will have access to the facility.