DESCRIPTION OF INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
The K99 phase of this project will be carried out at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and CSAIL MIT.
1 MGH/HST Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
The MGH/HST Martinos Center is a research center based in the Department of Radiology of Massachusetts
General Hospital (MGH) and is closely affiliated with Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). Its mission is to create, develop and apply a variety of innovative and advanced imaging and
other technologies to facilitate a comprehensive understanding and better care of the human mind and body.
The Martinos Center currently has roughly 100 faculty researchers and more than 200 affiliated and visiting
faculty and postdoctoral research fellows and graduate students, with expertise across a spectrum of disciplines
including engineering, physical sciences, computational sciences and informatics, and behavioral and cognitive
neurosciences; basic and applied biological sciences, chemistry, imaging, radiological sciences as well as
clinical sciences. Additionally, the center serves as a resource to the greater MGH community and biomedical
imaging experts from institutions across the greater Boston area and around the United States. MGH provides
training for professionals from MIT, Harvard Medical School, and Tufts University. One crucial component of the
center’s research is its partnerships with the government, industry and private foundations including the National
Center for Research Resources, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Siemens Healthcare, as well as the
National Foundation for Functional Brain Imaging.
The center occupies roughly 85,000 ft
2
of land area on the MGH East Campus in the Charlestown Navy Yard
and includes clinical, research, educational, and administration areas. A large expansion of the office space and
clinical and experimental space was recently completed. The center uses low-field, high-speed, high-field, and
conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, MR spectroscopy, optical imaging, magnetoencephalography
(MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) to explore properties of biological systems and to study and develop
novel ways to treat human pathologies such as neurodegenerative disorders and mental illnesses and cancer
cardiovascular diseases. The Martinos Center operates 6 MRI and 2 MR-PET large-bore scanners for human
clinical studies and 4 small-bore NMR systems for animal, and chemistry applications. The center has additional
laboratories specializing in MEG, optical imaging, photon migration, molecular imaging, behavioral testing, RF-
coil electronics and biochemistry. The aim of the Martinos Center is to foster interdisciplinary interaction through
training and integration of students, fellows, clinicians, and researchers with diverse backgrounds. Toward this
aim, the center supports and interacts with various training and educational programs. Educational endeavors
include affiliation and active involvement with degree-granting institutions and training programs sponsored by
NIH. Imaging tools and technology developed by the Martinos Center staff are taught to students, scientists, and
clinicians via specialized on-site and international workshops.
The Laboratory for Computational Neuroimaging at the Martinos Center explores new ways to conduct basic
and clinical, as well as cognitive neuroscience research through the use of MR imaging technologies. The lab’s
research is focused on optimization and analysis of neuroimaging data, encompassing structural, functional, and
diffusion MRI. Efforts are also focused on developing MR scanner pulse sequences and image reconstruction
methods that enhance image tissue contrast, reduce motion artifacts and improve the reliability of scans across
and within individuals. The lab has a number of computing resources, including a high-performance computing
cluster and GPU workstations, and promotes collaboration and resource sharing with other leading institutions.
2 CSAIL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
CSAIL has long been a leader in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science, and Computer Science
and is home to 110 principal investigators, which includes both MIT faculty and research staff. These numbers
include seven current or former MacArthur fellows and eight Turing award winners. CSAIL consistently ranks at
or near the top of undergraduate and graduate computer science programs in the world. Students and postdocs
in Golland’s group interact closely with other groups in CSAIL, including computer vision, machine learning and
MRI acquisition. This environment is ideal for creativity and exchange of ideas. In addition to the many relevant
courses and seminars at MIT, Golland’s group hosts a Biomedical Imaging and Analysis seminar series. Talks
in the series are given by invited top researchers in the field of medical image computing. Their visits provide an
invaluable opportunity for the students and postdocs in the group to share their own research and to brainstorm
new research directions with the thought leaders in the field in a less formal atmosphere of hosting the visiting
speaker. Our close connections with the machine learning and statistical inference groups at CSAIL and at MIT
is particularly relevant for the proposed project to stay abreast theoretical developments relevant for our domain.
In addition to CSAIL, Golland’s group also interacts closely with the MIT Institute for Data Science and Society
(IDSS), a recently founded epicenter of statistical modeling and machine learning at MIT, and with the MGH/BWH
Clinical Data Science Center (CDSC) recently established to explore applications of machine learning in medical
image computing and radiology. Through these centers, we come together with other local groups who share
our focus on inference and learning in medical images.