Research
The Department of Radiology is committed to bringing advanced imaging technology to the local community and beyond; utilizing cutting edge translation research to advance clinical care.
Clinicians and scientists from the Department of Radiology collaborate closely with researchers from a wide range of other departments, including psychiatry, neurology, orthopedics, and the Vermont Cancer Center. Support is available with mentoring, statistics and the administration. Research is a requirement for successful completion of radiology residency. It is expected that resident research will be published in peer-reviewed journals, and presented at national meetings and conferences.
The Department of Radiology hosts the MRI Center for Biomedical Imaging. The MRI center offers clinical and translational research opportunities for residents. It is based around a research-dedicated Philips 3T Achieva dStream MRI scanner, with state-of-the-art hardware and software. We provide extensive support to users of the center, including guidance in MRI physics, data acquisition and data analysis. For neuroimaging studies, we have specific expertise in the use of many software packages, including AFNI, FSL and SPM for data analysis, as well as E-Prime for functional MRI paradigm delivery. Through a strong collaboration with Philips Healthcare, we have early access to new software and hardware developments. For example, we were the first site in North America to get Philips multi-transmit technology (TX) in 2009, and upgraded to Philips all-digital D-STREAM technology in 2013. The scanner was again (2016) the first Philips scanner to be upgraded to a new spectrometer (DDAS) to support the use of multiband SENSE technology (simultaneous multislice imaging), enabling acceleration factors of up to 8 over conventional functional and diffusion MRI acquisitions with minimal loss of signal-to-noise.
- Sally Herschorn, M.D., is one of the investigators on the PROSPR (Population-Based Research Optimizing Screening through Personalized Regimens) grant: Reducing Overtreatment Due to Screening: Identifying Markers of DCIS Progression: Grant from National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health (NIH)/Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
We have published numerous papers, presentations and abstracts at various conferences and shared our success of research with the community at large.