New GE Partnership to Advance MRI Research

The Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute (MBBI) at Columbia also will be involved with GE as it continues its critical work in advancing brain-imaging techniques. J. Thomas Vaughan, a world expert in ultrahigh field MRI techniques and technology, joins Columbia this year as University-wide Director of Magnetic Resonance Research—a new position established between MBBI, CUMC, and Columbia Engineering to focus on neurological imaging and clinical translation research. Vaughan will also hold joint appointments in biomedical engineering at the Engineering School and in radiology at CUMC.

In many ways, this new deal with GE is a natural extension of an already-thriving collaboration between the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology. Several Engineering faculty who specialize in imaging have joint appointments in radiology and have ongoing research projects across departments.

“This major academic-industrial partnership is giving us a big boost at a very exciting time for MRI technology,” says Laine. “We’re looking forward to bringing the innovation of our faculty to bear on existing challenges in clinical translation and imaging science. We believe this can best be accomplished through this exciting GE and Columbia partnership.”