Emilie Roncali, Ph.D.

Emilie Roncali and Martin Judenhofer, Project Scientists in Simon Cherry’s lab, have received Academic Federation Innovative Developmental Awards(IDA). The goal of this award is to help scientists conduct preliminary studies and collecting data in order to apply for extramural funding sources.

Dr. Roncali’s project will develop a novel, cost-effective scintillation detector design for positron emission tomography (PET). She will investigate the feasibility of recording spectral information of the scintillation light to encode depth-of-interaction (DOI), a critical parameter in achieving high spatial resolution and accurate quantification with PET scanners.

Martin Judenhofer, Ph.D.

Dr. Judenhofer will investigate the feasibility of a novel method to estimate PET attenuation data for combined PET/MRI systems like the one built in Simon Cherry’s Lab. The correction for the absorption/attenuation of 511-keV photons in the subject is a prerequisite to achieve quantitative PET data and plays a major role in clinical PET/MRI systems. Findings from this feasibility study, based on small animal systems, can be applied to clinical systems as well.