FSU Mag Lab brain tumor detection breakthrough and MagLab trio named AAAS fellows

https://nationalmaglab.org/user-facilities/nmr-mri/publications-nmr-mri/highlights-nmr-mri/detecting-brain-tumors

New technique for detecting brain tumors

First, some background

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique that scientists can use for medical research. It visualizes the distribution of specific atoms in the body. Most of the time MRI maps the hydrogen atoms in the body, which can reveal various abnormalities.
In one hot area of MRI research, scientists are developing ways to map out other atoms in the body besides hydrogen. For example, MagLab researchers have been improving techniques for targeting sodium, which can be used to show how brain tumors respond to chemotherapy.

What is the finding?

This research resulted in an important first: The first time that MRI has been used to see oxygen in a living brain, resulting in a relatively clear image, using the MagLab’s 21.1 tesla NMR/MRI magnet. Specifically, it was used to locate a specific isotope of oxygen (oxygen-17,or ¹⁷O, also called enriched oxygen), which had been incorporated into glucose and injected into a living rat.
Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, which can result in different properties. Oxygen-16 is by far the most abundant oxygen isotope, but it can’t be detected using MRI. So scientists manufactured glucose (the form of sugar used by our cells) with ¹⁷O, which can be detected using MRI. They then injected it into rats that had cancerous brain tumors, which consume a lot of glucose.
When the researchers did MRI scans of the animals that searched for the ¹⁷O from the injected glucose, they confirmed its appearance in the rats’ brains, effectively identifying the location of the tumor.

THE TOOLS THEY USED
This research was conducted in the MagLab's 21.1 tesla ultra-wide bore magnet at the lab's NMR/MRI Facility.

Why is this important?

Currently, a technique called PET (positron emission tomography) is often used to detect brain tumors in humans. However, PET scans have several downsides: They’re costly, result in fairly fuzzy images and, because they require injecting patients with radioactive isotopes, can be risky.
This research demonstrates a new and safe alternative that features the advantages of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging.



https://nationalmaglab.org/news-events/news/maglab-trio-named-aaas-fellows

MagLab trio named AAAS fellows

"National MagLab scientists Luis Balicas, Scott Crooker and Kun Yang have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
This year the honor goes to 391 AAAS members who have helped advance science or its applications with scientifically or socially distinguished work.
“The fact that AAAS has recognized three MagLab scientists this year is a testament not only to their exceptional research, but to how effective high magnetic fields are at providing new scientific insights about the world,” said MagLab Director Greg Boebinger.
Balicas, a senior scientist at Florida State University (FSU), earned the honor of AAAS Fellow for making distinguished contributions to the fields of condensed matter physics and materials science, particularly for experiments at extreme conditions (such as high magnetic fields and very low temperatures) and contributions to the nanosciences.
“To me, this represents a recognition of the quality of the research performed at the MagLab and at FSU for almost two decades,” said Balicas. “Scientific research requires a high level of personal commitment and it is always comforting to know that our peers at scientific associations perceive and evaluate our effort positively.”
Fellow FSU physicist Yang was cited for his contributions to theoretical condensed matter physics, particularly in topological phases of matter.
“I am very much humbled by this honor,” Yang said. “This would not be possible without the continuous support I have been receiving from the MagLab and physics department since I joined FSU in 1999.”
Topological phases of matter gained widespread attention last month when three scientists were awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work in this area. One of those scientists, F. Duncan Haldane of Princeton University, nominated Yang for the AAAS award. Election as a Fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers.
Scott Crooker, a physicist at the National MagLab’s Pulsed Field Facility in Los Alamos, N.M., was honored for distinguished contributions to condensed matter physics, particularly in the development of magneto-optical spectroscopies and their application to fundamental properties of electronic materials.
Florida State’s Vice President for Research Gary K. Ostrander said the work of the FSU researchers deserves this special recognition.
“Luis Balicas and Kun Yang are shining examples of the researchers here at FSU who are working daily to further our understanding of the world around us,” Ostrander said. “This honor by their peers and the AAAS demonstrates how valued their scientific contributions are, and we couldn’t be prouder of this recognition.”

The official presentation is scheduled for Feb. 18 during the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston, Mass. The organization is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science and several other publications."