Bruce Berkowitz, PhD
Director of the 7T MRI

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	E-Mail: baberko@med.wayne.edu
	Mailing Address: 7327 Scott Hall 540 East Canfield St. Detroit, MI 48201
	Phone: (313) 577-9305
	Publications

Dr. Berkowitz is the Director of the 7T MRI and is responsible for the administration of the 7T system. This involves coordination and review of applications that request the use of instrument time, organization of regular meetings with personnel to review progress and discuss solutions to problems, education of potential clinical investigators regarding instrument capabilities and training investigators and personnel in the safe operation of the instrument.

Dr. Berkowitz has made it his goal to prevent vision loss and blindness due to diabetic retinopathy. Dr. Berkowitz develops and applies functional MRI biomarkers that are helpful in evaluating the effectiveness of treatment. His research is groundbreaking, as his techniques can detect retinal treatment effectiveness early in the course of the disease when pharmaceutical treatment is most likely to be effective. His research has also improved our understanding of the physiology of normal retinal activity. The methods that Dr. Berkowitz has developed have been shown to have a strong translational ability to investigate retinopathy in preclinical models as well as patients.

"We have now been the first to demonstrate the utility of a new functional manganese-enhanced MRI, or MEMRI, approach not only in diabetes, but also in neurodegenerative disease and in cancer" describes Dr. Berkowitz of his recent findings. These research findings have led to Dr. Berkowitz’s efforts to translate the MEMRI technique into clinical applications. In addition, his research group is actively using MEMRI to investigate links between neuronal ion regulation and visual performance.

In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Berkowitz has recently received the prestigious honor of being named a 2009 Silver Fellow by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).