Faculty
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH Dr. Nestrasil is a Czech board-certified neurologist from the Czech Republic where he worked as Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Palacky University in Olomouc. He landed in Minnesota as a Fulbright Scholar in 2007 studying Parkinson’s disease by ultra-high-field MRI. Soon after, he started at University of Minnesota in a post-doctorate associate position and joined the NIH-funded Lysosomal Disease Network (LDN) in 2009. In 2012, he joined the faculty of the UMN Department of Pediatrics. He served as Director of Neuroimaging Core of the LDN in 2014-2019. His scientific focus is research neuroimaging (brain, spinal cord, retina) and signal processing in various neurological conditions, particularly, in rare disorders. |
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Research Associates
Monica Bondy, BS
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH After graduating with a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, I joined the lab full time as a study coordinator in February 2021. In my current role, I am responsible for the lab's managerial, regulatory, and administrative duties. I am also involved with analysis in several ongoing research projects, which I have been doing since joining the as an undergraduate student in the fall of 2018. I am particularly interested in studying how MR can be used to study neurological changes in patients with rare disorders. |
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Ivana Labounkova, MEng
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH In 2015-2017, I achieved an internship at the Thermo Fisher Scientific, research and development department with a focus on data and image processing in electron microscopy. I am Ph.D. candidate focusing on in vivo functional imaging of retinal hemodynamics in human eye and its applications into early clinical diagnostics. In spring 2019, I have joined the UMN MILab as a researcher advancing dynamic retinal imaging, expanding basal knowledge of retinal hemodynamics, and solving the riddle of its relationships to neurovascular pathologies and deficits. |
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Amy Paulson, MS
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH I have been conducting pediatric neuroimaging research with a primary focus on neurodegenerative diseases for the past 5 years. My neuroimaging expertise primarily involves MRI, DTI, and MRS analysis. I am currently continuing my education to a Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie Huang specializing in the implementation and application of pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics in therapeutic treatment using computational analysis. My work is related to understanding the relationship between selective nuclear export inhibitors and its impact on triple negative breast cancer. |
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Postdoctoral Associates
Rene Labounek, PhD
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] Publications Github |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH During my inter-disciplinary studies, I researched for the Central European Institute of Technology at Masaryk University, Czechia and fMRI Lab at Palacky University Olomouc, Czechia, and visited as a research scholar at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research at University of Minnesota (UMN), USA. In Fall 2018, I joined the UMN MILab as a post-doctoral associate. My research focus is to advance biosignal processing and medical imaging fields, especially quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of brain and spinal cord structure or function and dynamic imaging of retinal function. |
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PhD Students
Ivana Labounkova, MEng
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH In 2015-2017, I achieved an internship at the Thermo Fisher Scientific, research and development department with a focus on data and image processing in electron microscopy. I am Ph.D. candidate focusing on in vivo functional imaging of retinal hemodynamics in human eye and its applications into early clinical diagnostics. In spring 2019, I have joined the UMN MILab as a researcher advancing dynamic retinal imaging, expanding basal knowledge of retinal hemodynamics, and solving the riddle of its relationships to neurovascular pathologies and deficits. |
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Viktor Weiss, MD
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: TBA |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH TBA |
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Masters Students
Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Students
Colman Farrington
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH I have been a part of the lab since fall of 2020 and have been involved in various activities within the lab. I help out with in-person structural MRI scanning for infants involved in the CMV project. I also work on the lab's ALD project through tracing developing lesions in MRI images using the program ITK-Snap. I am interested in progressive diseases among developing brains and the connections between MRI data and cognitive deficits in these subjects. |
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Gabriela Delgado
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH I am interested in Behavioral Neuroscience, particularly the area of focus on decision making. I joined this lab right after completing my first year at the U in 2019. I have been working on a project about ALD ever since tracking cerebral lesions and as an MRI operator for a project on asymptomatic CMV. I have learned a lot during my time here, especially about neuroanatomy. |
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Jesse Wolk
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH I started in the lab in January of 2021 and have worked on volumetric analysis of MPSIIIA patients' brains using Freesurfer and ITK snap. Along with a set of MPSIIIA psychobehavioral data, I have used my research to write up my capstone on correlations between both sets of data. Additionally, I assist with data measuring through baby monitoring at the CMRR. My goal is to attend medical school and practice medicine in a rural area and make a change in the community that I understand the best. I also have minors in Spanish and Biology. |
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Kendrew Chen
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH I have been a part of the lab since January of 2021. I joined primarily because of my interests in pediatrics as well as getting the experience of working in a lab setting. Currently, I am a part of the FreeSurfer Team that works to analyze the MRI scans of various children with MPS diseases. I have mainly spent my time working on the MPS VI project and using FreeSurfer to observe changes in brain structure and brain volume in various patients. I’ve really enjoyed my time in the lab and getting the chance to work with my mentor and other members. |
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Randi Rogers
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH I have been a research assistant in the lab since January 2021. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience in Spring 2021. Since being a member of the lab, I have collaborated with team members to process and analyze MR brain imaging of pediatric patients with cerebral malaria using the software FreeSurfer. Additionally, I have been trained on ITK-Snap and been working on quantitative analysis of MR imaging of patients with Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) which results in pediatric neurodegeneration. |
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Visiting Scholars
Alumni
Research Associates
Victor Kovac, MD
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I began work with the Lysosomal Disease Network in 2011 with Igor Nestrasil as my co-PI and mentor at the University of Minnesota. My first project was developing a novel method for volumetric measurement of the canine hippocampus. My major project consisted of acquiring and analyzing structural brain MRI data from participants with MPS to characterize neurodevelopment and generate endpoints for therapeutic trials. My experience with patients with MPS and their families inspired me to go to medical school in order to also have a more direct role in their care. I am now a fellow in Infectious Diseases at the shared program between Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, where I am focusing on patients who are immunocompromised after solid organ and bone marrow transplantation. Many of the MPS participants I saw at UMN had undergone bone marrow transplantation and my current experience caring for individuals who have received BMT frequently reminds me of the invaluable experience I had at UMN with Dr. Nestrasil. |
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Carol Lien
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I worked on projects related to brain structure segmentation and analysis of MRI data from MPS/ALD exploratory and clinical trials as well as neuropsychological questionnaire administration to MPS/healthy volunteers. I was also a MRI operator for several brain and spine studies in MPS and CMV. As we grew in more studies, I took on study coordination for MPS, ALD, CMV as well as mentoring and managing projects with research assistants. My favorite part about working with Igor and the team was getting to meet bright, highly motivated students and researchers as well as serving the participants and scientific community that inspire our research. I really appreciated Igor's mentorship and encouragement for my career development which gave me the opportunity to pursue user experience/user interface (UX/UI) design. |
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Amy Wakumoto
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected] |
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH TBA |
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Graduate Students
Khoi Mai, MFM
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH Although my background was in Computer Science and Math, I joined the lab as volunteer for my OPT as my computer science skillset was utilized in a collaboration with Igor Nestrasil and Bryon Mueller to implement canine atlases to the Freesurfer processing pipeline for the canine brain MRI data the lab collected for an MPS canine model study. We called this project: "Woofsurfer" with the goal of reconstructing parts of the canine brain. Here is a presentation outlining the work's progress. I also troubleshooted brainmask issues in Freesurfer and FSL with brain and spine MRI data for MPS human studies where we were conducting volumetric analysis on brains with large ventricles due to lesions caused by the MPS disease. |
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Diksha Srishyla, MPH
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I collaborated with lab members to complete processing of 150 brain scans of children with Cerebral Malaria. I also helped to develop a manual on using Freesurfer to process neuroimaging data and trained an undergraduate student RA to use Freesurfer on MRI brain scans. Currently, I'm a graduate student in Neuroscience at the McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. |
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Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Students
Quoc Bui
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I worked Rene on a project that involved analysis of Electroencephalography (EEG) data with EEGLAB and MATLAB. My focus was to identify and remove various types of artifacts from the EEG dataset using Principal Component Analysis and Fourier Transform techniques. |
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Cory Caprio
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I traced canine cerebellum, brainstem, and white matter in a MPS model. The purpose of the research was to analyze how the disease affected canine brains and use that data to improve treatment in human patients. I also helped with additional data management, cleric, and sampling duties. |
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Lindsey Greenlund
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I was an MRI operator for MPS and CMV studies and will be working as a part of multiple projects with a major focus on the imaging of brain development through the course of rare central nervous system diseases. I also participated in the analysis of white matter in the brain via Freesurfer software. |
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Brandon Joffer
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I was a 3T MRI operator for multiple studies related to MPS and and infant scanning for CMV. I also used ITK-Snap to mask brain lesions in patients with ALD and examined volumes of livers and spleens for a clinical study looking at rare diseases partnered with SOBI (pharmaceutical company). I'm currently a Clinical Research Coordinator at Vance Thompson Vision. |
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Herman Kim
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I traced cerebellum, brainstem, and white matter in a MPS model of canines and murine. The purpose of the research was to analyze how the disease affected canine and murine brains and use that data to improve treatment in human patients. |
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Yeeji Kim
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I worked on the volumetric analysis on MPS IIIA and the lesion tracing for ALD projects. I'm interested in working with the clinical population to combine my nursing background with medical research. I'm also interested in the application of artificial intelligence in clinical research. |
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Ivan Krasovec
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH My focus was on neuroimaging data analyses and literature review. I scanned MPS and healthy participants at the CMRR. I am now a researcher in the neuroscience department at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Going forward, I would like to learn more about functional MRI methods, and possibly apply them to neural connectivity in pelvic floor disorders, pain management, and dystonia. |
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Lauryn Logic
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH My research interests include understanding how brain injury or dysfunction contributes to psychological or behavioral dysfunction. I am interested in TBIs, neuroplasticity, and neurorehabilitation techniques. I was involved with a study focused on understanding the effects of severe COVID-19 cases in children through neuropsychological assessments, determining which batteries and assessments might be the best fit for validating and reliable assessment of child development. For my University Honor's Program Thesis, I researched the disease progression of MPS IIIA from a neuropsychological developmental standpoint. I also have a minor in Integrative Neuroscience. I plan to continue onto graduate school to get my P.h.D. in Clinical Neuropsychology. |
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Andrew Metz
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I joined as an undergraduate student, working mainly on the ALD projects to semi-automatically segment lesion masks from MRI brain data using a software called ITK-SNAP. I also worked on an ALD review paper with Alena Svatkova. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, I went on to start medical school at Creighton School of Medicine. Currently my involvement on the ALD projects looks like collaborating with Igor on a publication and also remotely training new research assistants. |
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Caitlin Moore
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH My work in the lab has focused on using ITK-SNAP to track disease progression in ALD patients, and helping out at CMV infant MRI scans. Joining the lab gave me the opportunity to learn about MRI protocols and how rare pediatric neurological disorders physically appear in the brain. It was an invaluable experience seeing how clinical research is conducted and carried out. Being able to meet and speak with the patients and their families really put the important work we were doing into perspective. I hope to continue my research career helping people and build upon the abilities and skills I have acquired to do so. |
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH TBA |
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH My research involved rare neurological diseases and exploring potential biomarkers to aid in the treatment of those diseases. I utilized Freesurfer to study disease progression biomarkers for the disease MPS IIIA by analyzing the brain volumes of T1-weighted MRI scans in white/gray matter and the ventricles. |
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Ixchel Salter
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH My main research interest is ALD, and I have utilized quantitative analysis of MRI scans to learn more about the disease's mechanisms. I am attending medical school and hope to learn more regarding the genetic basis of neurodegenerative diseases. |
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Sylvia Wu
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EDUCATION POSITIONS |
Email: [email protected]
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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH I was interested in bioinstrumentation, medical devices design and neural engineering. With Rene, I worked on a project about the analysis of a novel spatiospectral filter approach for EEG-fMRI data fusion, funded by the Undergraduate Research Scholarship. |
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