Quantitative Ultra High Field MRI (7T) and potentialities in ALS

Thanks to improved spatial resolution and the emergence of new contrasts, Ultra High Field MRI (7 Tesla) offers new prospects for characterizing spinal cord pathologies compared with MRI examinations conventionally performed at 3T [1,2].
Combined with quantitative imaging (diffusion MRI, morphological MRI, relaxometry) [3], these high spatial resolutions offer new opportunities for studying degeneration within the substructures of the spinal cord [4].
In this internship, taking advantage of recently developed techniques for analyzing images acquired at 7T [5,6], we will focus on the tissue damage that occurs in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) [7], a motor neurone disease.

The internship will be carried out at the CRMBM-CEMEREM, in collaboration with the Neurology and Neuromuscular Diseases Department of the Hôpital de la Timone.

The main missions given to the recruited student will be :
– to improve the post-processing tools needed to analyze data acquired on patients, integrating recently developed approaches [5,6],
– to quantify MRI parameters measured in different regions of interest, over time, and in relation to different matched healthy and pathological populations,
– to evaluate the contribution of quantitative MRI at 7T (early detection of tissue damage? profile of damage in gray matter? finer characterization of atrophy?) in correlation with various clinical scores collected during longitudinal follow-up of patients, in particular the MUNIX (Motor Unit Number Index) score.

The content and priorities of the internship will be adapted to the duration of the internship (3 or 6 months).

During the internship period, the student will have the opportunity to participate to 7T MRI explorations, clinical evaluations and scientific staff meetings. Depending on the degree of progress, the results obtained may be submitted as an abstract for scientific meeting. The student will receive practical and theoretical training in MRI safety.

Skills required for this internship include: very good knowledge of image processing (Matlab/Python), computer science, and statistics; a good level of English (read/written); curiosity; high motivation; autonomy in work and ability to interact into and with a multidisciplinary team. A good knowledge of MR imaging is a plus.

A cover letter, CV, the last 2 school reports and a short description of experience in imaging, post-processing and statistics should accompany the application.
Deadline: December 31, 2023.

For more information about CRMBM-CEMEREM (CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, APHM), please visit our website : https://crmbm.univ-amu.fr/