|
“If I have seen further
it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” This is a quote
from Sir Isaac Newton in a letter to Sir Robert Hooke. Newton is
famous for many things relevant to MRI, including the application of
calculus to problems of physics. Hooke is the first person to use a
microscope to observe the living cell.
To me, this quote epitomizes the spirit of the International Society
for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. The collaboration between Newton
and Hooke was at the intersection of physics and the life
sciences—similar to the work of the ISMRM. All of us—scientists,
engineers, clinicians, students—are standing on the shoulders of
giants as we advance the field of magnetic resonance to benefit
patients and humanity. Our next meeting will be a celebration of 20
years of innovation in MRI, innovation that has transformed imaging
and medicine.
The 21st annual meeting of the ISMRM will be held in Salt Lake City
from April 20-26, 2013. The theme this year is “Discovery,
Innovation, and Application – Advancing MR for Improved Health”.
In our Salt Lake City plenary lectures, you will learn about the
rich history of innovation in MR. An august panel of Gold-medal
winners of the ISMRM will describe their “Ah-Ha” moments, the
moments of innovation that led to their biggest discoveries. You
will also learn how, as we improve MRI, we are making major advances
in women’s health and clinical trials. You will learn about the
power of this modality for assessing the microstructure and
connections within the brain, and how the landscape of MRI may be
transformed when it is combined with Positron Emission Tomography
(PET), otherwise known as “Mr. PET”.
We have three wonderful speakers giving our named lectures this
year. Klaas Prüssmann, PhD, ETH, Zurich, will deliver the Monday
morning Lauterbur lecture entitled “Beyond Fourier encoding: The
need, the challenges, and the rewards of breaking out of k-space.”
Richard Ehman, MD, Professor of Radiology at the Mayo Clinic and former
President of the ISMRM, will deliver the Mansfield lecture, “MRI and
Mechanobiology: Emerging Science at the Intersection of Engineering
and Biology”, on Thursday morning. This year, an exciting new named
lecture, the NIBIB New Horizons Lecture, will be given by Dr. Scott
Reeder of the University of Wisconsin Madison, entitled “Frontiers
in Body MRI: from Qualitative to Quantitative”.
We will continue the highly innovative and exciting meeting format
pioneered by Jim Pipe at the Melbourne conference. Our goal is to
continue to increase the visibility and impact of traditional and
electronic posters, and promote the personal interactions that help
make our annual meeting so special. The study group meetings will
again take place in a “study group lounge” area, where all attendees
can come and enjoy a less structured setting. As this will replace
the evening study group meetings, we will make the poster hall a fun
place to be in the evenings.
We will also continue to have the “distributed poster sessions” that
were such a success in Melbourne. We will distribute the traditional
and electronic poster sessions throughout the day, clustering them
by theme. Thus each of the three daily two-hour “slots” will contain
an e-poster session on a given theme (e.g., cancer), a traditional
poster session on a given theme (e.g., fMRI), 5-6 scientific
sessions, 2-3 educational courses, and one or more specific study
group meetings. This flexible format worked well in Melbourne,
reduced content overlap, and made it easier to identify when posters
were being presented.
The Education program in Salt Lake City, under the direction of Derek
Jones, PhD, is spread throughout the week, along with an intensive
program held on the opening weekend. Courses span the breadth of our
field, and are targeted toward all levels of expertise. Courses will
be clinical, technical, and mixed in nature—a reflection of our
diverse society. Many of the popular courses will return, and new
courses will be introduced (“Imaging across the Lifespan”,
“Practical Quantitative Imaging”, “Revenge: an MRI game show”, and a
mock grant review, to name a few).
The setting in Salt Lake City is spectacular, a clean and walkable
city surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The convention center is
large with a great format for our meeting. A host of excellent
shops, bars, and restaurants are situated within walking distance of
the convention center, providing an ideal setting for breaks during
and after the day’s meeting. The nearby University of Utah is host
to a spectacular natural history museum. Skiing will likely be in
season at the world-class resorts of Snowbird and Alta, just minutes
outside of Salt Lake City. The resort town of Park City is situated
about 25 minutes from the convention center, and some of the most
spectacular natural scenery on earth is found in the national parks
of southern Utah (Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and
Capitol Reef National Parks). You will find people happy to help you
plan small or large adventures through our website and in the
exhibition hall at the meeting.
Throughout the meeting, you will encounter the wonderful staff
members of our central office. Although we mostly only see them the
week of the meeting, they work tirelessly throughout the year to
make this meeting the incredible experience that it is. In my role
as AMPC chair, I have come to greatly appreciate their dedication
and professionalism. I believe we owe them a debt of gratitude for
the role they play in advancing this meeting, our field, and our
respective careers, and I encourage you to pass on a word of thanks
as you interact with them.
On behalf of the Annual Meeting Program Committee, I invite you to
come to Salt Lake City in April 2013 to the 21st Annual Meeting of
the ISMRM. Be part of the celebration of twenty years of innovation
and advances in MRI. The setting and the venue are spectacular, the
people are friendly, and the Rocky Mountains await you after the
meeting. |
