Maria Altbach, PhD

Dr. Altbach specializes in the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, with an emphasis on abdominal imaging. Her research group develops novel radial MRI acquisition and reconstruction strategies that provide motion-insensitive images with high spatial and temporal resolution to yield better tools for image interpretation. The overall goal of the research is to improve the diagnosis of disease. Her team works with highly undersampled data, allowing it to obtain images from significantly less data than conventional methods, improving imaging efficiency and patient throughput and compliance.

One of the goals of the team's research is to be able to derive parameters for the quantification of disease from data acquired within the time constraints of a clinical MRI examination. The team has pioneered methods for high-resolution parametric mapping from highly undersampled radial MRI data, providing unique techniques for the quantitative characterization of disease. The idea is to complement the current qualitative approach of clinical radiology with a time-efficient but quantitative or parametric approach.

For over 25 years, Dr. Altbach has directed a team at the University of Arizona on the development of novel MRI techniques to improve the diagnostic capabilities of the technology. The team's work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association for the past 18 years, giving Dr. Altbach extensive experience managing funded projects.

Dr. Altbach also has extensive experience as a mentor. She has trained 16 PhD and MSc students and seven postdoctoral fellows (both basic and clinical scientists). Most of the trainees have continued into positions or further training at other academic and research institutions, including the Barrow Neurological Institute, the University of Michigan, the Food and Drug Administration, the University of Toronto, Harvard Medical School, Stony Brook University and the University of Arizona.