Department of Electrical Engineering
Research interests and affiliations
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- In vivo histology
- Biophysical modeling
- Brain and heart microstructure
- Multiple sclerosis
Our team has access to world-class imaging facilities at the University of Montreal, and we also work closely with collaborators at the Montreal Neurological Institute and the newly established Stanford Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging. Due to the interdisciplinary and international nature of our projects, we are open to students from a wide range of scientific backgrounds.
If you are interested in joining, please send e-mail with your CV to: nikola.stikov@polymtl.ca.
Below is a list of ongoing projects:
- Characterizing the myelin microstructure in patients with multiple sclerosis (collaboration with the Montreal Neurological Institute)
- Building software for simulating and fitting magnetic resonance data to tissue models (collaboration with the Stanford Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging)
- Studying the sexual dimorphism in the myelin thickness (g-ratio) during normal brain development
- Histological validation of the accuracy and precision of myelin imaging techniques
- Pulse sequence development for magnetic resonance spectroscopy and diffusion in the heart and the brain
Publications
Biography
Co-director, Neuroimaging Research Laboratory (NeuroPoly) http://www.polymtl.ca/recherche/rc/unites/details.php?NoUnite=184
Researcher at Montreal Heart Institute https://www.icm-mhi.org/en/contact-us/employees?letter=S
Dr. Nikola Stikov is assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute, and co-director of NeuroPoly, the Neuroimaging Research Laboratory at École Polytechnique. His research spans the gamut of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging, from basic issues of standardization and accuracy, to biophysical modeling, microstructural imaging and clinical applications. His group is particularly interested in developing and validating novel biomarkers for non-invasive characterization of the brain and heart microstructure during development, disease and treatment, thus pushing the boundaries of the emerging field of in vivo histology.
Prior to joining the Polytechnique faculty, Dr. Stikov completed his postdoctoral training with Dr. Bruce Pike at the Montreal Neurological Institute, and his Ph.D. degree with Dr. John Pauly and Dr. Dwight Nishimura at Stanford University. For his accomplishments, Dr. Stikov has been awarded the Stanford Electrical Engineering Outstanding Service Award in 2003, and the Stanford University Centennial Teaching Assistant Award in 2007. He is also the founder of MRBalkan.org, and has organized several international conferences for magnetic resonance imaging under the auspices of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). In 2014, Dr. Stikov was elected Junior Fellow of the ISMRM.
Distinctions
- Junior Fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2014)
- Montreal Neurological Institute CECR Fellowship (2010)
- Stanford Centennial Teaching Assistant Award (2007)
- Stanford Electrical Engineering Outstanding Service Award (2003)
Teaching
GBM2330 Principles of biomedical instrumentation https://moodle.polymtl.ca/enrol/index.php?id=879
ELE6812 Image processing and analysis https://moodle.polymtl.ca/course/view.php?id=31
GBM6330 Biomedical Emergent Technologies https://moodle.polymtl.ca/enrol/index.php?id=1720
Supervision at Polytechnique
COMPLETED
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Ph.D. Thesis (2)
- Karakuzu, A. (2022). Bringing Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Under One Umbrella [Ph.D. thesis, Polytechnique Montréal].
- Boshkovski, T. (2021). The Myelin-Weighted Connectome: A Multiplex Approach to Characterize Brain Function and Structure [Ph.D. thesis, Polytechnique Montréal].
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Master's Thesis (3)
- Nami, H. (2019). Clustering of the White Matter Tracts in the Rat Spinal Cord Based on Quantitative Histology [Master's thesis, Polytechnique Montréal].
- Saliani, A. (2017). Construction d'un atlas de la microstructure de la matière blanche de la moelle épinière chez le rat à partir d'acquisitions histologiques [Master's thesis, École Polytechnique de Montréal].
- Vuong, M. T. (2017). Comparison of Myelin Imaging Techniques in Ex Vivo Spinal Cord [Master's thesis, École Polytechnique de Montréal].
Press review about Nikola Stikov
