Cornell MRI Facility

GE Discovery MR750 3T
Bore size: 60 cm
Maximum Field-of-View: 48 x 48 x 48 cm3 
Homogeneity: 0.03 ppm @10 cm, 0.05 ppm @ 20 cm, 0.1 @ 30 cm, 0.25 @ 40 cm 
Peak Gradient Amplitude: 50 mT/m 
Slew Rate: 200 mT/m/s 
Independent Receiver Channel: 32 

MR-compatible LCD monitor for visual stimuli 
MR-compatible headphones for auditory stimuli 
MR-compatible response boxes and interface 
MR-compatible eye tracking camera 

Stimulus PC specification 

• OS Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit 

• Processor/Memory  Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @3.40GHz / 16 GB RAM 

Software installed on Stimulus PC 

• E-Prime (version 2.0.10.356) 

• Presentation (version 17.1.0515.2014) 

• PsychoPy (version 1.83.04) 

• Matlab

• 32 Channel Head Coil
• Phased array
• Split Head Coil
• 1 channel birdcage transmit/receive coil
• Head-Neck-Spine (HNS) Coil
• 16 channel phased array
• Head and neck coil separate from T and L spine parts
• Cardiac Coil
• 32 channel phased array
• Anterior and posterior parts
• Torso Coil
• 32 channel phased array
• Anterior and posterior parts
• Knee/Foot Coil
• 1 channel birdcage transmit/receive coil
• 2 movable parts
• Shoulder Coil
• 2 channel phased array

Sumit Niogi 

sun2003 [at] med.cornell.edu (sun2003[at]med[dot]cornell[dot]edu)

Sumit N. Niogi, M.D., Ph.D., graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in physics and mathematics and became part of the Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medicine community in 2002. He subsequently completed his Ph.D. in physiology, biophsyics and systems biology at Weill Cornell Graduate School in 2007 and his M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College in 2010. 

Afterward, he completed a general surgery internship in 2011 and diagnostic radiology residency in 2015 at New York Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medicine. After completing a clinical neuroradiology fellowship at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine, he became faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine in 2016.

Dr. Niogi was appointed director of the CMRIF in 2019, tasked to revamp the facility and overhaul operations so that the CMRIF can better serve the Cornell community. He has operational and strategic oversight over the CMRIF and is responsible for facility operations, staff, equipment and strategy. 

Part of this role includes faculty outreach and working with the Cornell community to see that the CMRIF adapts to serve as a valuable resource to further research. Dr. Niogi hopes that the CMRIF can serve as a focal point to help bridge the Weill Cornell and Cornell Ithaca campuses due to the tremendous faculty expertise and interest in MRI research that spans across both campuses. 

Dr. Niogi serves as the CMRIF MR Medical Doctor (MRMD) for MR safety. 

He maintains a research laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine and mentors students at both campuses as well. His research is focused on elucidating the role of white matter connectivity and white matter integrity in cognition through the use of advanced MR imaging such as quantitative diffusion imaging. 

Dr. Niogi has a particular interest in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and serves on multiple national and international committees on TBI policy, clinical management and research. He also has research projects in brain tumor radiomics, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative conditions. Recently, Dr. Niogi has been applying machine learning and developing cloud computing pipelines to rapidly investigate large research datasets.

Henning U. Voss 

hv28 [at] cornell.edu (hv28[at]cornell[dot]edu)

Henning U. Voss, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Potsdam, Germany, in 1998. From 2000 to 2003, he was assistant professor at the University of Freiburg, Germany, before becoming assistant professor of physics in radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. 

Dr. Voss became associate professor of physics in radiology in 2009. At the beginning of 2021, he became the technical director of the Cornell Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility (CMRIF).

Dr. Voss’ role at CMRIF includes daily oversight of the MRI scanning facility and MR physics and engineering development, as well as assisting faculty investigators in using the MRI scanner. He is developing operating protocols; ensuring daily operation, maintenance and calibration of the scanner and peripheral equipment; and promoting the safe operation of the facility. 

Dr. Voss serves as the CMRIF MR Safety Expert (MRSE).

His research interests include new MRI imaging contrasts and MRI radiofrequency coils. He is also interested in dynamical systems and the application of dynamical systems methods to 4D (space and time) MRI data of the brain. His present research focuses on the understanding of the aging human brain by using novel dynamical MRI contrasts to map aging-induced changes of the brain’s physical properties, such as the elasticity of its arteries.

Mary Blomfield-Brown

mb2676 [at] cornell.edu (mb2676[at]cornell[dot]edu)

Mary Blomfield-Brown, R.T. (R) (MR) (MRSO) (ARRT) (ASRT) has been working at CMRIF since 2020 as the lead MRI technologist. Her role includes assisting faculty in building imaging protocols, troubleshooting and help with MR scanning. 

Mary Blomfield-Brown serves MR Safety Officer and is responsible to help maintain a safe environment for subjects and investigators to do research at CMRIF. She developed an MRI training program for investigators so they can learn about operating the CMRIF MRI scanner.

Mary Blomfield-Brown graduated from St. James Mercy School of Radiology in 2008 as a radiologic technician. She subsequently completed an MR Cross Trainer Program with Alliance Healthcare Services and became an MR technologist in 2009. Blomfield-Brown earned certification to become a MR Safety Officer in 2019.

Mary Blomfield-Brown has tremendous clinical experience, having worked in the MR mobile imaging world for over 15 years. She also worked as an MRI technician at Upstate Bone and Joint for 10 years. That facility is affiliated with Upstate University, where she gained experience training students and co-workers.