Funded by the ISMRM Research & Education Fund

2026 ISMRM membership required to apply.

The ISMRM Research Exchange Program aims to foster the exchange of ideas and promote the advancement of basic science, pre-clinical, and clinical magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI/S) research by supporting the exchange of researchers to alternate research sites.

Mission Statement

To promote the advancement of MRI/S research by catalyzing the exchange of scientific personnel; to build community amongst MRI/S scholars that fosters rapid and efficient transfer of knowledge and progress of the field.

Who can apply?

ISMRM members affiliated with academic institutes with appointments at (or below) the level of Assistant Professor are encouraged to apply. Applicants must:

  1. Be ISMRM Trainee or Full Members;
  2. Find a host mentor (ISMRM Full Member); and
  3. Work closely with this mentor to prepare the submitted application.

If the applicant is a Trainee Member, then it is preferred that the applicant’s home/local mentor be a ISMRM Full Member. Scientists and clinicians who reside in financially restricted countries and do not have access to alternative financial means are especially encouraged to apply. Note: Previously successful applicants are ineligible to apply again. Applications from students currently working with ISMRM Research Exchange Committee members are discouraged.

Who can host?

ISMRM Full Members that are principal investigators of an active MRI/S research group at an academic institute are encouraged to host applicants.

How do applicants find a host?

Applicants may find a host via existing scientific networks that the ISMRM already fosters (annual meetings and workshops). Applicants can also reach out directly to ISMRM full members with whom they would like to work.

How to apply?

Applicants will provide a two-page research proposal, two letters of reference (applicant’s home mentor or department chair; and the applicant’s host mentor) and curriculum vitae. A single, combined PDF containing these files must be uploaded via the link below before the deadline noted at the top of this page. Applicants are encouraged to review the evaluation criteria (see below).

How do I prepare the research proposal?

The proposal must outline the specific aim(s), significance & innovation, and approach (~1.5 pages). The applicant should provide a budget justification and also address the need for financial support and the benefits of the exchange collaboration (~0.5 pages). The proposal should be single-spaced on letter-sized or A4 paper with 1-inch (25mm) margins and a 12-point font.

What funds are available?

Up to $5000 per applicant is available. Winners will be contacted in April and will be formally announced at the ISMRM Annual Meeting. This funding is aimed at catalyzing the exchange, not fully supporting all associated costs. Funds must be used within one year of having been awarded.

When to apply?

Applications are due any time before the deadline noted at the top of this page.

When does the exchange occur? For how long?

The trainee can visit the host site any time within one year after the award announcement. Exchange durations should be for a minimum of eight weeks. Because earnest collaboration and scientific progress both require significant time to develop, longer visits are strongly encouraged. It is expected that most exchanges will be for 3-6 months. Applicants will likely require additional funding support to fully leverage the catalyzing funds from the ISMRM.

How are applications evaluated?

The ISMRM Research Exchange Program committee will review all applications and individually score (5-highest, 1-lowest) each category:

  1. Importance of the exchange for the applicant’s growth as a scientist;
  2. Likely success of the proposed project;
  3. Likelihood of establishing a sustained collaboration and/or benefit to the ISMRM;
  4. Applicant’s research preparedness for the exchange;
  5. Suitability of the host site for the proposed project; and
  6. The financial need of the recipient.

Deliverables

Applicants must provide the ISMRM Research Exchange Program committee with a one- to two-page report about the outcomes of their research exchange. This can highlight research results, software developments (open source is encouraged), abstracts, papers, patents etc. Preferably, the authors can provide a copy of a submitted or accepted ISMRM abstract related to the exchange. All applicants must acknowledge support from the ISMRM in any publications resulting from the exchange. Reports are due one month before the annual ISMRM meeting commences.

If you have any questions, please email research_exchange@ismrm.org.

The application period has closed.

Research Exchange Program Recipients

2026 Recipients

Sorravit Akrasirakul, B.Sc.

Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Learned k-Space Partitioning for Zero-Shot Self-Supervised MRI Reconstruction

Home Mentor: HOME

Host Mentor: Mark Chiew, Ph.D. (Sunnybrook Research Institute)

Sara Gröhn, M.Sc.

A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Kuopio, Finland

Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques in Evaluating In Vivo Human Brainstem Cytoarchitecture in Anxiety and Depression

Home Mentor: HOME

Host Mentor: Marta Bianciardi, Ph.D. (A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging)

Vincent Lechner, M.Sc.

Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden

Non-Invasive Imaging of Relative Pressure – Assessing the Capabilities and Mechanisms of Joint Velocity and Acceleration-Encoded 4D-Flow MRI

Home Mentor: HOME

Host Mentor: Daniel Ennis, Ph.D. (Stanford University)

Fabio Otsuka, Ph.D.

University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

deepDecompose: Developing a Deep Learning Model To Improve the Source Separation Problem

Home Mentor: HOME

Host Mentor: Chunlei Liu, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley)

Ahmed Radwan, M.B.B.Ch., Ph.D.

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Beyond Standard Diffusion Models in Epilepsy: Comparative Evaluation of LoRE-SD and SANDI for Pathological Tissue Characterisation and Presurgical Tractography

Home Mentor: HOME

Host Mentor: Joseph Yang, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Melbourne)

Maximilian Gram, Dr. rer. nat.

Pushing the Limits of Spin-Lock Based Field Detection: Towards Spatially Resolved Direct Detection of Neuronal & Cardiac Biomagnetism via Rotary Excitation & MR Fingerprinting at 0.55T

Home Mentor: Peter Michael Jakob (University of Wuerzburg)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Nicole Seiberlich (University of Michigan)

Tom Hendriks, M.Sc., M.D.

A Statistical Foundation for Implicit Neural Representations in MRI

Home Mentor: Maxime Chamberland (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Yogesh Rathi (Harvard Medical School)

Abdul Nashirudeen Mumuni, Ph.D.

Development & Validation of a Novel Fast 3D-EPI Method for Measurement of Brain Tissue & CSF Pulsations

Home Mentor: Dr. Abukari Mohammed (University for Development Studies)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Prof. Pål Erik Goa (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Yuriko Suzuki, Ph.D.

Territorial & Temporal Assessment of Cerebrovascular Reactivity Using Arterial Spin Labelling (ASL) & MR Fingerprinting

Home Mentor: Peter Jezzard (University of Oxford)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Hanzhang Lu (Johns Hopkins University)

Antoine Theberge, M.Sc.

Smarter Imaging for Everyone: Adapting AI-Based Diffusion MRI Analysis to Low-Field Scanners

Home Mentor: Maxime Descoteaux (Université de Sherbrooke)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Derek K. Jones (Cardiff University)

Kamilla Avelino de Souza, Ph.D.

Charting New Waters: Enhancing Neuroimaging Techniques for Cetacean Brains

Home Mentor: Bruno Mota (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Karla Miller (University of Oxford)

Ariel Hannum, M.Sc.

Towards Vendor-Agnostic Body Diffusion-Weighted Imaging

Home Mentor: Daniel Ennis (Stanford University)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Maxim Zaitsev (UMC Freiburg)

Lingceng Ma, Ph.D.

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Multitasking: Proof-of-Concept Implementation of Simultaneous Multiparameter/Multidimensional Acquisition & Reconstruction Techniques for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance imaging (SMART-CMR)

Home Mentor: Anthony G. Christodoulou (University of California, Los Angeles)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Aleksandra Radjenovic (University of Glasgow)

Sara Neves Silva, BEng

Self-Guided Fetal MRI

Home Mentor: Jo Hajnal (King’s College London)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Meritxell Bach Cuadra (University of Lausanne)

Gabriel Zihlmann, M.Sc.

Feasibility of Fingerprinting-Based Quantitative MRI with Compact Low-Field Point-of-Care MRI Systems

Home Mentor: Mathieu Sarracanie (University of Aberdeen)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Clarissa Z. Cooley (A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging)

Daniel Cromb, M.B.B.S.

Is impaired in-utero brain development in congenital heart disease, identified on fetal MRI, associated with placental abnormalities?

Home Mentor: Serena Counsell, Ph.D. (King’s College London, London, UK)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Jannie Wijnen, Ph.D. (University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Kyu-Jin Jung, Ph.D. Cand

Deep Learning based Electrical Properties Tomography as Biomarker in Radiotherapy

Home Mentor: Dong-Hyun Kim, Ph.D. (Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Stefano Mandija, Ph.D. (University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Yeva Prysiazhniuk, M.Sc.

Age-related perfusion changes in the normal-appearing pediatric brain

Home Mentor: Jan Petr, Ph.D. (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Michael E. Moseley, Ph.D. ()

Changyu Sun, PhD

Low-Resolution Tagging Calibrated 2D and 3D Cine MRI for Improved Assessment of Cardiac Function

Home Mentor: Talissa Altes, Ph.D. (Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: René Botnar, Ph.D. (King’s College London, London, UK)

Mitra Tavakkoli, M.Sc.

Recurrent Inference Machine in the application of 3T hyperpolarized 129Xe ventilation MRI and 7T liver proton MRI

Home Mentor: Michael Noseworthy, Ph.D. (McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Wietske van der Zwaag, Ph.D. (Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Milena Capiglioni, M.Sc.

In Vivo Multimodal Validation of Magnetic Resonance Based Neuronal Current Imaging Sequences

Home Mentor: Roland Wiest, M.D. (University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Jorge Jovicich, Ph.D. (University of Trento, Mattarello, Italy)

Thomas Jochmann, Dipl.-Phys.

Exploring the clinical value of non-susceptibility Larmor frequency shifts in the brain

Home Mentor: Prof. Jens Haueisen (Technische Universität Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Ferdinand Schweser, Ph.D. (University of Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, USA)

Christian Licht, M.Sc.

Advancing 23Na Triple Quantum and 1H Double Quantum Imaging on Clinical Scanners

Home Mentor: Prof. Dr. Lothar R. Schad (Universitätsklinikum Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Stanislas Rapacchi, Ph.D. (Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France)

Elizabeth Powell, Ph.D.

A novel method for measuring blood-brain barrier water exchange

Home Mentor: Geoff J. M. Parker, Ph.D. (University College London, London, England, UK)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Markus Nilsson, Ph.D. (Lund University, Lund, Sweden)

Festus Slade, M.Sc.

In vivo CEST imaging of the serotonin biosynthesis pathway

Home Mentor: Joanna F. Collingwood, Ph.D. (The University of Warwick, Coventry, England, UK)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Greg J. Stanisz, Ph.D. (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada)

Sarah Belderbos, M.Sc.

PET/MRI to Elucidate the Role of Macrophages in Immunotherapy

Home Mentor: André F. Martins, Ph.D. (Werner Siemens Imaging Center, University Hospital Tübingen, Germany)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Heike E. Daldrup-Link, M.D., Ph.D. (Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA)

Diana-Georgiana Rotaru, M.Sc.

Simultaneous editing and detection of inhibition neurotransmitters, GABA and NAAG, using Hadamard encoding and reconstruction schemes

Home Mentor: David J. Lythgoe, Ph.D. (Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, England, UK)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Ashley D. Harris, Ph.D. (Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary)

Apoorva P. Safai, M.Sc.

High temporal resolution fMRI acquisition and advanced analysis for identifying reliable imaging markers for Parkinson’s disease

Home Mentor: Madhura Ingalhalikar, Ph.D. (Symbiosis Center for Medical Image Analysis (SCMIA), Pune, India)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Gopikrishna Deshpande, Ph.D. (AU MRI Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA)

Francesca Saviola, M.Sc.

Investigating in-vivo human brain dynamic connectivity with fast fMRI

Home Mentor: Jorge Jovicich, Ph.D. (Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Dimitri Van De Ville, Ph.D. (Medical Image Processing Lab, EPFL, Geneva, Switzerland)

Gabriel Varela-Mattatall, Ph.D.

CS-wave MPRAGE in less than 1 minute for Pediatric Brain Imaging

Home Mentor: Ravi S. Menon, Ph.D. (Center for Functional & Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, Canada)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Berkin Bilgic, Ph.D., (Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA)

Agah Karakuzu, M.Sc.

Developing transparent, reproducible and vendor-agnostic workflows for quantitative MRI

Home Mentor: Nikola Stikov, Eng., M.Sc., Ph.D. (University of Montréal, École Polytechnique/Montreal Heart Institute, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Montreal, QC, Canada)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: John M. Pauly, Ph.D. (Stanford University, Department of Engineering, Stanford, CA, USA)

Valerie Klein, M.Sc.

Investigating the cardiac stimulation limit of MRI gradient systems by measurements and simulations in a porcine model

Home Mentor: Lothar R. Schad, Ph.D. (University Medical Centre: Mannheim Hospital, Mannheim, Germany)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Lawrence L. Wald, Ph.D. (Massachusetts General Hospital, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, USA)

Miheer Mayekar, M.Eng.

Indigenous 1.5 T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system development

Home Mentor: Rajesh Harsh, M.Sc. (SAMEER, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay campus, Powai, Mumbai, India)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Özlem Ipek, Ph.D. (King’s College London, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, London, UK)

Brigid McDonald, B.Sc.

Diffusion-Weighted MRI for Radiotherapy Treatment Response in Head and Neck Cancers

Home Mentor: Clifton D. Fuller, MD, Ph.D. (UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston, TX, USA)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Marielle Philippens, MD, Ph.D. (UMC Utrecht Cancer Centre, Department of Radiotherapy, Utrecht, Netherlands)

Melissa Vincent, M.Sc.

Diffusion properties of 13C-labeled hyperpolarized lactate

Home Mentor: Julien Valette, Ph.D. (CEA, Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, Gif-sur-Yvette, France)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Myriam M. Chaumeil, Ph.D. (University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA)

Sanjeev Chawla, Ph.D.

Investigating Potential of Multiparametric MRI using Machine Learning in Redefining Treatment Response in Patients with Glioblastoma

Home Mentor: Suyash Mohan, M.D. (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Anup Singh, Ph.D. (Indian Institute of Technology, Center for Biomedical Engineering, New Delhi, India)

Klaus Eickel, M.Sc.

Image Reconstruction of Simultaneous Multi-Slice Data at Ultra-High Field MRI without Scan-specific Receive Coil Sensitivity Calibrations

Home Mentor: Matthias Günther, Ph.D. (Fraunhofer MEVIS, Institute for Digital Medicine, Bremen, Germany)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Benedikt A. Poser, Ph.D., (Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands)

Hanna Styczen, M.D.

Evaluation of the association between enlarged perivascular spaces (as visible on magnetic resonance imaging) and subsequent rates of hippocampal atrophy in subjects at risk for familial and sporadic Alzheimer’s disease

Home Mentor: Charles R. G. Guttmann, M.D. (Center for Neurological Imaging, Brigham & Women’s Hospital)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Katharina Schregel, M.D. (Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany)

Carlos Milovic, Ph.D.

Multiscale Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping

Home Mentor: Christian Tejos (Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Christian Langkammer (Neuroimaging Research Unit, Medical Univ. of Graz, Austria)

Alena Schelokova, Ph.D. Candidate

Body Array Coil Based on Novel Materials for Ultra-High Field MRI

Home Mentor: Pavel Belov (Saint Petersburg National Research University, Russia Federation)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Andrew Webb (Department of Radiology, Leiden Univ. Medical Center, Netherlands)

Sila Genc, Ph.D. Candidate

Microstructural Imaging of Childhood Brain Development at 300mT/m

Home Mentor: Marc Seal (The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Derek Jones (CUBRIC, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK)

Milou Straathof, Ph.D. Candidate

Excitation and Inhibition; the Yin and Yang of Functional Brain Connectivity?

Home Mentor: Rick Dijkhuizen (Center For Image Sciences, U. Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands)

Host Mentor: Host Mentor: Robin de Graaf (MR Research Center, Yale University, New Haven CT, USA)

Hongjiang Wei, Ph.D.

Clinical Applications of Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping in Human Knee Joints

Home Mentor: Chunlei Liu at UC Berkeley, CA, USA

Host Mentor: Fuhua Yan at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

Ashwini Kumnoor, M. Tech

Design of novel gradient coil for stroke imaging at 10mT

Home Mentor: Sairam Geethanath at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, India

Host Mentor: Maxim Zaitsev at Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Michaël Belloy, M.S.

Tackling inter-subject variability in rodent resting and stimulus-evoked functional MRI, through detection of spatiotemporal quasi-periodic patterns (QPPs)

Home Mentor: Marleen Verzhove at University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Host Mentor: Shella Keilholz at Emory University/Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, USA

Georgia Felicia Seemann, M.Sc.

Diastolic function and its relationship to left atrial remodeling

Home Mentor: Einar Heiberg at Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Host Mentor: Dana C. Peters at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA