Postdoc position

POST-DOC position in a group of researchers

in the Department of Physics and Biophysics

financed within the project of

NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTRE (NCN), OPUS-NZ:

Markers of pathological changes in tissues by means of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance relaxometry

PERIOD: 34 months (possible extension by 2 months)

AMOUNT: 10 000 PLN/month (gross/gross)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an extremely powerful, non-invasive method that revolutionized medical diagnostics. Standard Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments (MRI, spectroscopy, relaxation experiments) are performed at a single, high magnetic field (resonance frequency). At a high magnetic field one can probe only fast dynamical processes (of the order of nanoseconds or faster). Fast Field Cycling (FFC) technology enables changing of the magnetic field in a remarkably broad range, encompassing five orders of magnitude: from about 30µT to 3T (this corresponds to 1 H resonance frequency from about 1kHz to 120MHz). In this way one can probe dynamical processes occurring on the time scale from milliseconds to nanoseconds. The aim of this project is to assess the potential of NMR relaxometry for medical diagnostics and provide means for identifying pathological changes in tissues on the basis of NMR relaxometry data. We shall also use NMR relaxometry to reveal the influence of pathological changes in tissues on their dynamics and structure on the molecular level for the purpose of getting insight into the mechanisms of the formation of the pathology. For this purpose it is necessary to combine an advanced theoretical framework linking dynamical and structural properties of tissues with their relaxation features, validate the approach against data for model systems and then apply it to a large NMR relaxometry data sets for tissues with the ultimate goal of establishing characteristic relaxation markers of specific diseases.

TASKS:

• Performing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) relaxometry and time-domain experiments

• Analysis of the experimental data (NMR relaxometry and time domain)

• Identification of NMR relaxation markers of pathological changes in tissues

• Identification of correlations between results of NMR relaxometry and time-domain experiments and results of diagnostic methods

• Establishing relationships between dynamical and structural properties of tissues revealed by means of NMR relaxometry versus histopathological data

• Participation in the preparation of research papers