Member Spotlight: Boel Hansson

I started my career in November 1993 in Lund, Sweden, in the Neuroradiology department. I was registered as a radiological technologist/nurse, and the first MR scanner I worked with was a 0.3Tesla scanner. Over the years the field strength has increased, and I am now working as the responsible research radiographer at the National 7Tesla facility in Lund. From 2000 to 2002, I worked for GE Medical as an application specialist covering Northern Europe, which meant extensive travelling not only all over Europe but also to the GE facility in Milwaukee, WI, USA. During 2007 to 2012, I had a personnel management role as Section Leader of MR in Lund. When the national 7T project was initiated in Lund, I presented my bachelor’s thesis: “Effects of Ultra-High Field MRI (7T) on Humans.” Between 2014 and 2020, I was a part-time Ph.D. student at Lund University while still working part-time at the 7T scanner. I defended my Ph.D. thesis, “Safety and Health Effects in High and Ultra-High Field MR,” on the 11th of September 2020.

My first SMRT/ISMRM meeting was in New York in 1996, and I was totally blown away by all the inspirational and interesting lectures I could choose from. What I love most about the SMRT is the opportunity to learn and meet the vibrant mixture of people from all over the world with one common interest: MR. I have served on the SMRT Policy Board, Abstract Committee, Global Committee, and Educational Committee—all very rewarding and interesting work. I am currently a member of the ISMRM MR Safety Study Group as an SMRT representative.

My family consists of me, my husband, and two children, and we live in a small village, Veberöd, a suburb of Lund. The location is a scenic environment in between two ridges. Both my daughter and my son are teenagers. When we need to recharge our batteries, we like go to my parents’ forest property to hunt, walk in the forest, pick mushrooms, and also go fishing in a nearby lake.

All members of my family enjoy cooking together and combining our food with a nice and suitable wine (only the adults). Travel is something we also really enjoy doing as a family, but it has not been possible in the past year. Right now, the whole family feels that we miss skiing holidays. We look forward to be able to hang out with our friends and family again when the pandemic is over.