Mission
To develop and apply noninvasive clinically-relevant imaging approaches for studying hemodynamic and metabolic function in the human brain.
The Cerebrovascular Aging and Spin Labeling (CASL) Laboratory is housed in the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging of Massachusetts General Hospital. Our research involves the development and application of noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approaches for studying hemodynamic and metabolic function in the human brain. A central focus of our work is on the use of arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI to characterize how cerebral hemodynamic function is affected by typical and abnormal aging as well as the presence of cerebrovascular diseases.
Cerebral hemodynamics in typical and abnormal aging
The human brain requires a constant supply of oxygen and other nutrients delivered through the bloodstream. Our lab is interested in applying noninvasive MRI approaches to understand how cerebral hemodynamic function, including perfusion and vascular reserve, changes with typical aging and how risk factors for vascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease may alter these functions.
Noninvasive detection of altered capillary hemodynamics
Once oxygen-rich blood is delivered to the microvasculature, oxygen is offloaded from capillaries into brain tissue. Our lab is interested in developing noninvasive MRI approaches with ASL for detecting the presence of capillary flow disturbances that could impair the efficiency at which oxygen is offloaded from the microvasculature into brain tissue.
Imaging white matter perfusion with high-field MRI
White matter poses unique challenges to perfusion imaging due to a lower vascular density and longer arterial transit times compared to gray matter. Our lab is interested in developing ASL MRI at 7 Tesla, coupled with dynamic shimming approaches developed by investigators at the Martinos Center, to characterize white matter cerebrovascular physiology.
Hemo-metabolic function in cerebrovascular diseases
Cerebrovascular diseases restrict oxygen availability to the brain through impairment to the hemo-metabolic equilibrium. Our lab is interested in understanding how tissue-level physiology compensates for this impairment in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), arterial steno-occlusive disease, and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).
Dr. Nikou Damestani featured on the September 2022 ISMRM Member Spotlight
September 30, 2022
Dr. Nikou Damestani, a postdoctoral fellow in the CASL Lab, was featured in the September 2022 edition of the ISMRM Member Spotlight. Congrats Nikou! Read more about her interests and work with the ISMRM here.
August 01, 2022
We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow interested in applying imaging approaches to help characterize hemodynamic and metabolic function in cerebrovascular diseases. Find out more details here.
