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Quantitative MRI to investigate trauma-induced microstructural changes following spinal cord injury
Applications are invited for a master thesis/internship in Neuroimaging group at the Spinal Cord Injury lab Balgrist campus at University of Zurich under the supervision of Dr. Maryam Seif. Our Neuroimaging group is a multidisciplinary team with physician, physicists, engineer, and neuro/biologists.
Extensive upstream (e.g. remote) volumetric and microstructural changes of corticospinal axons and sensorimotor cortical areas occur in the first months after spinal cord injury, with faster degenerative changes relating to poorer recovery. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of progression along the neuro-axis (ranging from the cord to the brainstem and brain), and their relation to the clinical course of SCI are still uncertain. To better reveal the interaction between spinal cord and brain changes, a more defined analysis of changes along the whole spinal cord, i.e. within but also below and above the cord lesion, and characterisation of the spinal patterns of changes affecting the myelin and axonal architecture will be required to disentangle effects attributable to the immediate damage of the cord from secondary remote (above and below) spinal cord changes.
Extensive upstream (e.g. remote) volumetric and microstructural changes of corticospinal axons and sensorimotor cortical areas occur in the first months after spinal cord injury, with faster degenerative changes relating to poorer recovery. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of progression along the neuro-axis (ranging from the cord to the brainstem and brain), and their relation to the clinical course of SCI are still uncertain. To better reveal the interaction between spinal cord and brain changes, a more defined analysis of changes along the whole spinal cord, i.e. within but also below and above the cord lesion, and characterisation of the spinal patterns of changes affecting the myelin and axonal architecture will be required to disentangle effects attributable to the immediate damage of the cord from secondary remote (above and below) spinal cord changes.
The specific aim of the project is to implement novel, cutting edge qMRI methods to assess the time course of microstructural changes in vivo below, at and above the lesion using high resolution MRI to distinguishing lesion dependent changes from secondary changes
The specific aim of the project is to implement novel, cutting edge qMRI methods to assess the time course of microstructural changes in vivo below, at and above the lesion using high resolution MRI to distinguishing lesion dependent changes from secondary changes
Please send your CV and motivation letter to maryam.seif@balgrist.ch
Please send your CV and motivation letter to maryam.seif@balgrist.ch