From left to right: Merry Mani, PhD, and Joseph Rispoli, PhD
Two faculty members from UVA’s Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging have earned Transformative Neuroscience Pilot Grants from the UVA Brain Institute. The grant program aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and support groundbreaking work in neuroscience.
Associate Professors Merry Mani, PhD, and Joseph Rispoli, PhD, were awarded seed funding for their respective research projects. Applications were evaluated based on scientific merit, potential scientific impact, and the funding’s potential impact on the project and team. From 31 project applications, 8 were chosen to receive funding.
Dr. Mani’s project, “Improved FCD Lesion Detection Using Advanced High Resolution Diffusion Microstructure Biomarkers and Normative Modeling,” investigates a leading cause of drug-resistant epilepsy called focal cortical dysplasia. FCD lesions remain invisible on conventional MRI, but the project aims to develop a high-resolution MRI framework to identify and detect abnormalities that indicate FCD in a quantitative manner. The research project is in collaboration with UVA Department of Neurology’s Ifrah Zawar, MD.
Dr. Rispoli’s project is titled “Development of an MRI Surface Coil for Intraoperative Use During Neurosurgery.” The project aims to develop specialized MRI surface coils specific to brain imaging during surgery, so that the localized imaging would aid treatment efforts and overall improve care for patients with neurological conditions. The research project is in collaboration with UVA Department of Neurosurgery’s Jeff Elias, MD.
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