Volume 3 Issue 2 Low-field, high-gradient NMR shows diffusion contrast consistent with localization or motional averaging of water near surfaces

Peter J. Basser

Peter Basser Ph.D. is the Head of the Section on Quantitative Imaging and Tissue Sciences, NICHD, NIH, USA, where he serves as a Senior Investigator. He received his A.B., S.M., and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University before receiving his post-graduate training in the Biomedical Engineering and Instrumentation Program at the NIH. His current research primarily focuses on developing novel imaging methods that use MR-based water net displacement measurements to investigate tissue microstructure, organization, and architecture. Dr. Basser's work spans the ”bench-to-bedside” continuum, and mainly pertains to brain imaging applications, such as neuroradiological assessments of normal and abnormal brain development, disease, degeneration and trauma; neurosurgical planning; and advancing neuroscience research through the elucidation of different brain networks. He is known for inventing or co-inventing several widely used methods, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), DTI Streamline Tractography, CHARMED, AxCaliber, Mean Apparent Propagator (MAP), and various multiple PFG MRI approaches. Recently, Dr. Basser's lab has been developing multi-dimensional MRI methods that combine joint diffusometry and relaxometry measurements. He has received numerous notable awards acknowledging his achievements, including the ISMRM Gold Medal, Eduard Rhein Technology Award, and induction into the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.