Thomas H. Mareci, Ph.D.
Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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Thomas H. Mareci, Ph.D. |
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Study of Nervous System Structure and Function with Magnetic Resonance Our research focuses on the study of fundamental questions about tissue structure and biochemical processes in the nervous system of living organisms, which are accessible to study with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. To provide a detailed understanding of the living system, we are examining excised tissue with NMR microscopy then these measurements are extended to studies in vivo. In addition, we develop unique NMR measurement and processing methods, and custom hardware/software systems for our studies of cellular and molecular processes. Our current projects are the following: 1) We are developing and using diffusion weighted imaging to map fiber tracts in highly structured white matter and gray matter of nervous tissue (see figure below of spinal cord). 2) We are studying convection drug delivery using dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging in vivo. As part of this study, we are modeling the kinetics of enhancement in a longitudinal study of drug distribution and how this is affected by tissue barriers. 3) We design unique RF coils to enhancement sensitivity. We develop implanted coils that are inductively coupled to an external coil during measurements and provide significant improvements in signal-to-noise ratio. Because of the gains possible, these coils allow the acquisition of very high spatial-resolution MR images and spectra. Future work will be directed toward the NMR measurement in vivo of a neurochemical profile of the brain for the study of epilepsy.
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Status: Not Accepting New Students This Year Contact Information: office: LG-183, McKnight Brain Institute lab: LG-152B, McKnight Brain Institute phone: 392-3375; Lab, 392-2332 email: thmareci@ufl.edu Home Page Biography: Thomas Mareci received a doctoral degree in physical chemistry in 1982 from Oxford University for his work on nuclear magnetic resonance multiple-quantum spectroscopy. Dr. Mareci joined the faculty of the University of Florida in 1982 and was appointed the Director of the Center for Structural Biology in 1993. He is an affiliate faculty member of the Departments of Physics and Biomedical Engineering and a member of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, where he is helping to develop the in vivo magnetic resonance program. He has published over 50 journal articles and 10 book chapters. |
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