The Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging, held by Associate Professor Julien Cohen-Adad (Department of Electrical Engineering), is developing innovative and essential instruments and software that will make it possible to build cutting edge tools for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) units used by radiologists.

An MRI system contains a strong magnet that enables clinicians to "see" inside the body. The magnet currently used in hospital systems generates a magnetic field of three tesla - teslas being the unit to measure magnetic field strength. MRI systems that generate a magnetic field of seven tesla have been developed and recently approved for clinical use.

These new MRI systems can help clinicians detect conditions that traditional systems cannot see, such as tiny lesions from multiple sclerosis. However, these powerful systems are much more difficult to use out-of-the-box, and require very experienced operators.

Cohen-Adad and his research team hope that their work will facilitate the use of seven-tesla MRI systems, so that diseases can be detected and diagnosed more quickly, thereby improving patient health.

Polytechnique Montréal will receive $500 000 from NSERC over the next five years for this Research Chair headed by Professor Cohen-Adad.

About the Canada Research Chairs Program

The Canada Research Chairs Program is at the heart of a national strategy to make Canada one of the premier research and development countries. The program invests approximately $295 million per year to attract and retain a diverse group of top-tier researchers, to consolidate research and training excellence at post-secondary institutions across Canada.

In Spring 2021, the Government of Canada invested more than $125 million to fund 156 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at 36 institutions across the country.

The Canadian federal government also has announced the renewal of the Chair headed by Professor Cohen-Adad at the same time as it unveiled the granting or renewal of support for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Discovery Grants Program to programs of research led by 23 researchers from Polytechnique.

The Canadian government has also announced funding for various research projects, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada wherein ten Polytechnique researchers are participating.

Congratulations to Professor Cohen-Adad!

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Professor Julien Cohen-Adad
Canada Tier 2 Research Chair in quantitative magnetic resonance imaging
Department of Electrical Engineering (In French only)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada