Jeremy J Flint,

Dr. Jeremy Flint graduated summa cum laude from UF’s Interdisciplinary studies (IDS) program with a Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Neurobiology (2002). He attended the University of Florida’s interdisciplinary program in biomedical sciences with a concentration in neuroscience for his Ph.D (2009). After performing postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Blackband, he accepted a post as an Assistant Scientist in UF’s Department of Neuroscience (2014). Dr. Flint’s research program is dedicated to using magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) techniques to study the MR contrast properties of cells: specifically, the diffusion-based MR contrast properties of mammalian neurons. Given the unique and important role MRI plays in our ability to perform non-invasive imaging of the human brain, the ultimate goal of Dr. Flint’s work is to improve the diagnostic utility of clinical imaging protocols through an understanding of how early-stage neuropathologies affect the MR contrast properties of CNS tissues at the cellular level.

One of the most significant limitations of MRI is its inherent lack of sensitivity which reduces the ultimate image resolution achievable under practical conditions. Dr. Flint’s research program focuses on overcoming this limitation by employing state-of-the art spectrometer systems and radio frequency (RF) coil technology to maximize the available MR signal generated. In this way, tissue components too small to visualize in the clinic—such as cells—can be imaged and studied with excised models in the laboratory. Using ultra-high-field imaging systems available to him through the National High Magnetic Field Lab’s (NHMFL) Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy (AMRIS) facility at UF, Dr. Flint is able to conduct studies at sub-100um resolutions that comprise a subfield of MRI know as Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (MRM). His time spent performing MRM research at UF has resulted in some of the most significant high-resolution MR images to date which include the first direct visualization of mammalian neurons—including human neurons—and most recently the first MRM of live mammalian neurons. To enable work on living tissues, Dr. Flint designs and fabricates purpose-built, MRI-compatible micro perfusion systems that maintain the viability of acute or organotypic slice cultures and cell culture samples during prolonged periods of image collection. Dr. Flint believes that cellular-level characterization of MR contrast properties in excised tissues will be useful for informing how contrast changes in macroscopic scans—such as are collected routinely in the clinic—relate to pathology occurring at the cellular level. Such knowledge would give clinicians a means to detect and monitor the earliest stages of disease progression which would lead to earlier treatment and, subsequently, improved patient outcomes.

• Advanced MRI and stroke
• neuroscience
• traumatic brain injury