By Kate Rauch
UCSF researcher credits CTSI technology grant with helping his lab maintain momentum despite state budget cuts.
When planning the precise and delicate procedure to remove a brain tumor, a neurosurgeon needs to know the exact location and dimensions of the invasive growth and the surrounding tissue. Because of the brain’s intricate network of neural pathways, altering one spot can adversely affect a patient’s speech, vision, mobility and cognition.
Mapping this network and making it visible for the human eye is one of the specialties of UCSF’s Srikantan Nagarajan, PhD, professor of radiology and biomedical imaging and director of UCSF’s Biomagnetic Imaging Lab. The lab specializes in detailed, high-fidelity brain imaging using magnetoencephalography (MEG), a quick, noninvasive procedure that measures the brain’s electromagnetic signals to visualize how things work inside.
“Our estimates of brain connectivity actually help predict outcomes in surgery,” Nagarajan said. The lab is a research hub, as well as a clinical resource. Its imaging is being used to investigate cancer, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and autism—among other conditions.
Much of the lab’s work is true translational medicine, where research is moved quickly to direct patient benefit, Nagarajan said. His team develops mathematical algorithms, transforms them into software tools that convert brain’s signals into videos of brain activity.
Juggling a fast-paced schedule of investigations, Nagarajan credits a grant from UCSF’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) for helping his lab keep momentum when threatened by state budget cuts.
A $30,000 Translational Technology Award provided by CTSI’s Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS) program was used primarily to fund an experienced lab tech and software engineer whose jobs were threatened, Nagarajan said. “It came at a valuable time. We were losing staff positions and there were mandatory furloughs,” he said.
CTSI’s Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS) program seeks to advance clinical and translational research at UCSF by providing funding resources to catalyze research and career development activities in clinical and translational sciences. See all funding opportunities.
CTSI at UCSF is a member of the National Institutes of Health-funded Clinical and Translational Science Awards network focusing on accelerating research to improve health. The Institute provides services for researchers at every stage, and promotes online collaboration and networking through UCSF Profiles.
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