Stephen J Blackband

Stephen J Blackband,

Professor

Department: Department of Neuroscience
Business Phone: (352) 846-2854
Business Email: sblackba@ufl.edu

About Stephen J Blackband

Dr. Blackband is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He received his PhD in NMR Imaging in 1985 from Nottingham University in England and went on to complete a Postdoctoral Fellowship (1982-1985) at his alma mater. He is a joint faculty with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) and has held several NIH grants, including as director of an NIH Resource grant that developed the hardware and techniques to take advantage of UF’s high field systems. He has been working on technique, technology and application development of MR for over 35 years and served as the first director of the imaging facility (AMRIS) at UF for three years, installing most of the magnet systems now there.

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2018
BME7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation
2008,2013-2017,2017
GMS6080 Basic Magnetic Resonance Imaging
2007-2010
GMS6029 Brain Journal Club
2024
GMS7795 Special Topics in Neuroscience

Research Profile

Dr. Blackband’s research over the past 34 years has moved from the first image of a single cell (a frog ova) through smaller and smaller cells (Aplysia neurons), culminating recently in the first images and fiber tracking of fixed mammalian brain cells on rat, porcine and human tissues. These studies incorporated the use of new micro rf coils and strong gradients. The use of these techniques is now being explored in other tissues including heart, muscle, diaphragm, kidney, liver, and retina. His work now is moving studies on fixed mammalian cells to cellular level imaging on live tissue, made possible by the construction of a unique oxgenator and perfusion apparatus compatible with the microimaging hardware. This work is continuing under an NIH grant. Most recently, his team is exploring the utility of the 900MHz (21.1T) system at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL). Additionally, the NHMFL has successfully achieved 30T on a new series connected hybrid magnet that made field early 2017. His work has involved human studies of breast, brain and prostate cancer, including early work on dynamic contrast agent studies, T2 quantitation, and localized proton spectroscopy in the prostate. Since moving to UF, his studies have included single cells, isolated perfused tissues (heart, brain, kidney), fixed specimens (brain, heart) and some non-biomedical studies. These studies use small bore high field systems, such as the 750MHz wide bore, to achieve the highest signal to noise and resolutions. DTI especially is being applied to mouse and rat brains, and his team co-developed the first ex vivo and in vivo mouse brain atlases. Additionally, they published the first MRI atlas of the isolated Drosophila fly brain.

Publications

2020
On the Origins of Diffusion MRI Signal Changes in Stroke.
Frontiers in neurology. 11 [DOI] 10.3389/fneur.2020.00549. [PMID] 32714267.
2020
Visualization of live, mammalian neurons during Kainate-infusion using magnetic resonance microscopy.
NeuroImage. 219 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116997. [PMID] 32492508.
2017
Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (MRM) of Single Mammalian Myofibers and Myonuclei.
Scientific reports. 7 [DOI] 10.1038/srep39496. [PMID] 28045071.
2017
Metabolic Support of Excised, Living Brain Tissues During Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Acquisition.
Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE. (128) [DOI] 10.3791/56282. [PMID] 29155793.
2016
Diffusion tensor microscopy data (15.6 μm in-plane) of white matter tracts in the human, pig, and rat spinal cord with corresponding tissue histology.
Data in brief. 9:271-4 [DOI] 10.1016/j.dib.2016.08.020. [PMID] 27668273.
2015
A Microperfusion and In-Bore Oxygenator System Designed for Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Studies on Living Tissue Explants.
Scientific reports. 5 [DOI] 10.1038/srep18095. [PMID] 26666980.
2015
Investigation of the subcellular architecture of L7 neurons of Aplysia californica using magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) at 7.8 microns.
Scientific reports. 5 [DOI] 10.1038/srep11147. [PMID] 26059695.
2015
Magnetic resonance microscopy of renal and biliary abnormalities in excised tissues from a mouse model of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease.
Physiological reports. 3(8) [DOI] 10.14814/phy2.12517. [PMID] 26320214.
2015
Visualization of synaptic domains in the Drosophila brain by magnetic resonance microscopy at 10 micron isotropic resolution.
Scientific reports. 5 [DOI] 10.1038/srep08920. [PMID] 25753480.
2013
Dictionary learning on the manifold of square root densities and application to reconstruction of diffusion propagator fields.
Information processing in medical imaging : proceedings of the … conference. 23:619-31 [PMID] 24684004.
2013
Oscillating and pulsed gradient diffusion magnetic resonance microscopy over an extended b-value range: implications for the characterization of tissue microstructure.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 69(4):1131-45 [DOI] 10.1002/mrm.24325. [PMID] 22576352.
2012
An efficient interlaced multi-shell sampling scheme for reconstruction of diffusion propagators.
IEEE transactions on medical imaging. 31(5):1043-50 [DOI] 10.1109/TMI.2012.2184551. [PMID] 22271832.
2012
In vivo MR studies of glycine and glutathione metabolism in a rat mammary tumor.
NMR in biomedicine. 25(2):271-8 [DOI] 10.1002/nbm.1745. [PMID] 21751272.
2012
Magnetic resonance microscopy of human and porcine neurons and cellular processes.
NeuroImage. 60(2):1404-11 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.050. [PMID] 22281672.
2012
Temporal scaling characteristics of diffusion as a new MRI contrast: findings in rat hippocampus.
NeuroImage. 60(2):1380-93 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.105. [PMID] 22306798.
2011
BOX SPLINE BASED 3D TOMOGRAPHIC RECONSTRUCTION OF DIFFUSION PROPAGATORS FROM MRI DATA.
Proceedings. IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging. 2011:397-400 [PMID] 23459604.
2011
Diffusion tensor microscopy in human nervous tissue with quantitative correlation based on direct histological comparison.
NeuroImage. 57(4):1458-65 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.04.052. [PMID] 21575730.
2011
Diffusion-weighted MRI and quantitative biophysical modeling of hippocampal neurite loss in chronic stress.
PloS one. 6(7) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0020653. [PMID] 21747929.
2011
Non-invasive monitoring of L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylate metabolism in the rat brain by in vivo 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Neurochemical research. 36(3):443-51 [DOI] 10.1007/s11064-010-0362-5. [PMID] 21161591.
2010
Cellular-level diffusion tensor microscopy and fiber tracking in mammalian nervous tissue with direct histological correlation.
NeuroImage. 52(2):556-61 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.04.031. [PMID] 20403443.
2009
Aldehyde fixative solutions alter the water relaxation and diffusion properties of nervous tissue.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 62(1):26-34 [DOI] 10.1002/mrm.21977. [PMID] 19353660.
2009
Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging of neuronal activity in the hippocampal slice model.
NeuroImage. 46(2):411-8 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.02.003. [PMID] 19233299.
2009
Magnetic resonance microscopy of mammalian neurons.
NeuroImage. 46(4):1037-40 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.03.009. [PMID] 19286461.
2009
Postmortem interval alters the water relaxation and diffusion properties of rat nervous tissue–implications for MRI studies of human autopsy samples.
NeuroImage. 44(3):820-6 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.09.054. [PMID] 18996206.
2009
Use of magnetic nanoparticles to monitor alginate-encapsulated betaTC-tet cells.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 61(2):282-90 [DOI] 10.1002/mrm.21833. [PMID] 19165877.
2008
In Vivo 3D Digital Atlas Database of the Adult C57BL/6J Mouse Brain by Magnetic Resonance Microscopy.
Frontiers in neuroanatomy. 2 [DOI] 10.3389/neuro.05.001.2008. [PMID] 18958199.
2007
Diffusion tensor microscopy indicates the cytoarchitectural basis for diffusion anisotropy in the human hippocampus.
AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology. 28(5):958-64 [PMID] 17494678.
2007
Magnetic resonance microscopy and immunohistochemistry of the CNS of the mutant SOD murine model of ALS reveals widespread neural deficits.
Neuromolecular medicine. 9(3):216-29 [PMID] 17914180.
2007
Non-invasive evaluation of alginate/poly-l-lysine/alginate microcapsules by magnetic resonance microscopy.
Biomaterials. 28(15):2438-45 [PMID] 17239948.
2006
Alpha-II-spectrin after controlled cortical impact in the immature rat brain.
Developmental neuroscience. 28(4-5):457-65 [PMID] 16943668.
2006
Biochemical consequences of alginate encapsulation: a NMR study of insulin-secreting cells.
Biomaterials. 27(12):2577-86 [PMID] 16364429.
2006
Characterization of anomalous diffusion from mr signal may be a new probe to tissue microstructure.
Conference proceedings : … Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference. 2006:2256-9 [PMID] 17946947.
2006
Diffusion tensor imaging of frontal white matter and executive functioning in cocaine-exposed children.
Pediatrics. 118(5):2014-24 [PMID] 17079574.
2006
Effects of temperature and aldehyde fixation on tissue water diffusion properties, studied in an erythrocyte ghost tissue model.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 56(2):282-9 [PMID] 16841346.
2006
MR microscopy of rat hippocampal slice cultures: a novel model for studying cellular processes and chronic perturbations to tissue microstructure.
NeuroImage. 30(3):780-6 [PMID] 16325430.
2006
Non-invasive monitoring of tissue-engineered pancreatic constructs by NMR techniques.
Advances in experimental medicine and biology. 585:261-76 [PMID] 17120790.
2006
Observation of anomalous diffusion in excised tissue by characterizing the diffusion-time dependence of the MR signal.
Journal of magnetic resonance (San Diego, Calif. : 1997). 183(2):315-23 [PMID] 16962801.
2006
Resolution of complex tissue microarchitecture using the diffusion orientation transform (DOT).
NeuroImage. 31(3):1086-103 [PMID] 16546404.
2006
Structural insights from high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging and tractography of the isolated rat hippocampus.
NeuroImage. 32(4):1499-509 [PMID] 16806988.
2006
Translational neuroscience and magnetic-resonance microscopy.
The Lancet. Neurology. 5(6):536-44 [PMID] 16713925.
2005
A theoretical comparison of two optimization methods for radiofrequency drive schemes in high frequency MRI resonators.
Physics in medicine and biology. 50(22):5281-91 [PMID] 16264253.
2005
A three-dimensional digital atlas database of the adult C57BL/6J mouse brain by magnetic resonance microscopy.
Neuroscience. 135(4):1203-15 [PMID] 16165303.
2005
Alginate assessment by NMR microscopy.
Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine. 16(6):511-4 [PMID] 15928865.
2005
Fast orientation mapping from HARDI.
Medical image computing and computer-assisted intervention : MICCAI … International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention. 8(Pt 1):156-63 [PMID] 16685841.
2005
Intermolecular multiple quantum coherences at high magnetic field: the nonlinear regime.
The Journal of chemical physics. 123(16) [PMID] 16268701.
2005
Noninvasive in vivo detection of glutathione metabolism in tumors.
Cancer research. 65(22):10149-53 [PMID] 16287997.
2004
Observation of significant signal voids in images of large biological samples at 11.1 T.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 51(6):1103-7 [PMID] 15170828.
2004
Quantitative measurement of neurodegeneration in an ALS-PDC model using MR microscopy.
NeuroImage. 23(1):336-43 [PMID] 15325381.
2003
Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging study of a rat hippocampal slice model for acute brain injury.
Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. 23(12):1461-70 [PMID] 14663342.
2003
In vivo prostate magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3 Tesla using a transceive pelvic phased array coil: preliminary results.
Investigative radiology. 38(7):443-51 [PMID] 12821859.
2003
NMR properties of alginate microbeads.
Biomaterials. 24(27):4941-8 [PMID] 14559007.
2003
Water diffusion measurements in perfused human hippocampal slices undergoing tonicity changes.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 49(5):856-63 [PMID] 12704768.
2002
Ex vivo high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in Joubert’s syndrome.
Journal of child neurology. 17(12):911-3 [PMID] 12593466.
2002
Human erythrocyte ghosts: exploring the origins of multiexponential water diffusion in a model biological tissue with magnetic resonance.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 48(4):649-57 [PMID] 12353282.
2002
Progress in high field MRI at the University of Florida.
Magma (New York, N.Y.). 13(3):152-7 [PMID] 11755090.
2002
Simultaneous diffusion MRI measurements from multiple perfused rat hippocampal slices.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 48(3):565-9 [PMID] 12210927.
2001
Estrogens decrease reperfusion-associated cortical ischemic damage: an MRI analysis in a transient focal ischemia model.
Stroke. 32(4):987-92 [PMID] 11283401.
2001
MR microscopy of multicomponent diffusion in single neurons.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 46(6):1107-12 [PMID] 11746576.
2000
NMR spectroscopy of single neurons.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 44(1):19-22 [PMID] 10893516.
1999
MRI measurement of cell volume fraction in the perfused rat hippocampal slice.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 42(3):603-7 [PMID] 10467307.
1999
NMR microscopy–beginnings and new directions.
Magma (New York, N.Y.). 9(3):112-6 [PMID] 10628683.
1999
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging measurements of water diffusion in the perfused hippocampal slice during N-methyl-D-aspartate-induced excitotoxicity.
Neuroscience. 93(2):487-90 [PMID] 10465431.
1999
The effect of ouabain on water diffusion in the rat hippocampal slice measured by high resolution NMR imaging.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 41(1):137-42 [PMID] 10025621.
1997
A study of diffusion isotropy in single neurons by using NMR microscopy.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 37(4):624-7 [PMID] 9094087.
1997
MR microscopy of perfused brain slices.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 38(6):1012-5 [PMID] 9402203.
1996
Comparison of conventional single echo and multi-echo sequences with a fast spin-echo sequence for quantitative T2 mapping: application to the prostate.
Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI. 6(4):603-7 [PMID] 8835953.
1996
Improved peripheral MR angiography with temperature regulation in healthy patients.
Radiology. 198(3):899-902 [PMID] 8628890.
1996
Magnetic resonance microscopy and spectroscopy reveal kinetics of cryoprotectant permeation in a multicompartmental biological system.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 93(15):7454-9 [PMID] 8755494.
1996
Maturation effects on the NMR microimaging characteristics of single neurons.
The American journal of physiology. 271(4 Pt 1):C1295-302 [PMID] 8897837.
1996
Nuclear magnetic resonance microscopy of single neurons under hypotonic perturbation.
The American journal of physiology. 271(6 Pt 1):C1895-900 [PMID] 8997190.
1996
Proton MR T2 maps correlate with the citrate concentration in the prostate.
NMR in biomedicine. 9(2):59-64 [PMID] 8887369.
1996
Quantification of citrate concentration in the prostate by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy: zonal and age-related differences.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 36(3):352-8 [PMID] 8875404.
1996
Tumour volume determination from MR images by morphological segmentation.
Physics in medicine and biology. 41(11):2437-46 [PMID] 8938037.
1995
A modified imaging sequence for accurate T2 measurements using NMR microscopy.
Journal of magnetic resonance. Series B. 109(1):66-9 [PMID] 8581310.
1995
Cerebral metabolites in patients with acute and subacute strokes: concentrations determined by quantitative proton MR spectroscopy.
AJR. American journal of roentgenology. 165(3):633-8 [PMID] 7645484.
1995
Determination of proton metabolite concentrations and relaxation parameters in normal human brain and intracranial tumours.
NMR in biomedicine. 8(3):104-12 [PMID] 8579997.
1995
NMR microscopy of single neurons using spin echo and line narrowed 2DFT imaging.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 33(6):790-4 [PMID] 7651115.
1994
A modified quadrupole gradient set for use in high resolution MRI tagging.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 32(2):246-50 [PMID] 7968449.
1994
Fingers: three-dimensional MR imaging and angiography with a local gradient coil.
Radiology. 190(3):895-9 [PMID] 8115647.
1994
Multimodality correlative study of canine brain tumors. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, positron emission tomography, and histology.
Investigative radiology. 29(6):597-605 [PMID] 8088967.
1994
Quantitative analysis of multi-slice Gd-DTPA enhanced dynamic MR images using an automated simplex minimization procedure.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 32(5):646-51 [PMID] 7808266.
1994
Relaxation-time and diffusion NMR microscopy of single neurons.
Journal of magnetic resonance. Series B. 103(3):261-73 [PMID] 8019778.
1994
The design and construction of a NMR microscopy probe.
Journal of magnetic resonance. Series B. 104(2):127-34 [PMID] 8049865.
1993
Irreversible regional cerebral ischemia: serial MR imaging and proton MR spectroscopy in a nonhuman primate model.
AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology. 14(4):963-70 [PMID] 8352171.
1993
Quantitation of proton NMR spectra of the human brain using tissue water as an internal concentration reference.
NMR in biomedicine. 6(1):89-94 [PMID] 8384470.
1993
Quantitative proton spectroscopy and histology of a canine brain tumor model.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 30(4):458-64 [PMID] 8255193.
1993
The use of magnetic resonance imaging to track controlled drug release and transport in the brain.
Magnetic resonance imaging. 11(2):247-52 [PMID] 8455434.
1992
Feasibility of 19F imaging of perfluorochemical emulsions to measure myocardial vascular volume.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 28(1):129-36 [PMID] 1435216.
1992
Spatial heterogeneity of the metabolic response of RIF-1 tumors to a vasoactive agent evaluated in vivo by one-dimensional 31P chemical-shift imaging.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 26(2):308-12 [PMID] 1513252.
1991
High-resolution 1H NMR imaging of regional ischemia in the isolated perfused rabbit heart at 4.7 T.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 21(1):144-50 [PMID] 1943672.
1990
31P chemical shift imaging of the regionally ischemic perfused heart.
NMR in biomedicine. 3(4):190-3 [PMID] 2206851.
1990
Echo planar imaging of isolated perfused rat hearts at 4.7 T: a comparison of Langendorff and working heart preparations.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 15(2):240-5 [PMID] 2392049.
1990
In vivo nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy of aquatic organisms.
Magnetic resonance imaging. 8(2):191-8 [PMID] 2338900.
1990
Metabolic heterogeneity in RIF-1 tumours detected in vivo by 31P NMR spectroscopy.
NMR in biomedicine. 3(5):233-8 [PMID] 2288861.
1990
Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy of patients with mitochondrial cytopathies demonstrates decreased levels of brain phosphocreatine.
Annals of neurology. 27(6):626-30 [PMID] 2360799.
1990
Spatial localization for motion-rejected NMR imaging: SLO-MOTION.
Magnetic resonance in medicine. 13(2):263-70 [PMID] 2314214.
1987
NMR microscopic studies of eyes and tumors with histological correlation.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 508:399-413 [PMID] 3326460.
1986
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of a single cell.
Nature. 322(6075):190-1 [PMID] 3724861.

Grants

Jan 2023 ACTIVE
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Renewal 2023-2027
Role: Faculty
Funding: FL STATE UNIV via NATL SCIENCE FOU
Jan 2018 – Dec 2023
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Renewal 2018-2022
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: FL STATE UNIV via NATL SCIENCE FOU
Apr 2017 ACTIVE
Age-associated changes?in hippocampal circuits and cognitive function
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
May 2016 – Apr 2022
MISCELLANEOUS DONORS (Dr. Blackband)
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
Sep 2014 – Aug 2016
Visualizing the cardiac conduction network using MR microscopy and diffusion
Role: Project Manager
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NHLBI
Jan 2013 – Dec 2018
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: FL STATE UNIV via NATL SCIENCE FOU

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 846-2854
Emails:
Business:
sblackba@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 100244
GAINESVILLE FL 32610
Business Street:
LG185 UFBI
GAINESVILLE FL 326100244