Alayar Kangarlu, Ph.D.

Head of MRI Physics

SB331 MRI Research

NYSPI/Columbia University Department of Psychiatry

212-543-5140

Email:

Alayar Kangarlu leads the physics and engineering group at NYSPI MRI research center at Columbia University in New York City. He is currently an associate professor of neurobiology at the department of Psychiatry and a senior physicist with the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). Alayar was trained in experimental physics with keen interest in theory. His interests in NMR led him to department of Radiology at Ohio State University in 1995 where he was a member of the team who built the 8 Tesla human MRI scanner and initiated the ensuing flurry of activities in ultra high field MRI. For the past 6 year, Alayar has been leading the Physics and Engineering developments on a GE 3T/94cm MR scanner at NYSPI. His interests include development of specialized RF coils and pulse sequences for high field applications in neurosciences. He is presently collaborating with the leading group of neuroscientists in the world within NYSPI and Columbia University and collectively they are improving the imaging tools for brain research to further expand potentials of NMR in unraveling the inner working of the human brain and mechanism of neuropsychiatric disorders.

 

Research Interests:

1. Technique development for high field (HF) magnetic resonance (MR)
2. Improvement of HF RF coils for multichannel receive and transmit technology
3. Development of techniques to enhance fMRI signals at 3T and higher
4. Technology for study of brain development

Selected Recent Publications:

  1. Duan Y, Peterson BS, Liu F, Brown TR, Ibrahim TS, Kangarlu A. Computational and experimental optimization of a double-tuned (1)H/(31)P four-ring birdcage head coil for MRS at 3T. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2009 Jan;29(1):13-22.

  2. Kangarlu A. High-field magnetic resonance imaging. Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2009 Feb;19(1):113-28. Review.

  3. Gerber AJ, Posner J, Gorman D, Colibazzi T, Yu S, Wang Z, Kangarlu A, Zhu H, Russell J, Peterson BS. An affective circumplex model of neural systems subserving valence, arousal, and cognitive overlay during the appraisal of emotional faces. Neuropsychologia. 2008;46(8):2129-39.

  4. Posner J, Russell JA, Gerber A, Gorman D, Colibazzi T, Yu S, Wang Z, Kangarlu A, Zhu H, Peterson BS. The neurophysiological bases of emotion: An fMRI study of the affective circumplex using emotion-denoting words. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009 Mar;30(3):883-95.

  5. Liu F, Garland M, Duan Y, Stark RI, Xu D, Dong Z, Bansal R, Peterson BS, Kangarlu A. Study of the development of fetal baboon brain using magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla. Neuroimage. 2008 Mar 1;40(1):148-59.

  6. Ibrahim TS, Tang L, Kangarlu A, Abraham R. Electromagnetic and modeling analyses of an implanted device at 3 and 7 Tesla. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2007 Nov;26(5):1362-7.

  7. Kangarlu A, Tang L, Ibrahim TS. Electric field measurements and computational modeling at ultrahigh-field MRI. Magn Reson Imaging. 2007 Oct;25(8):1222-6.

  8. Kangarlu A, Bourekas EC, Ray-Chaudhury A, Rammohan KW. Cerebral cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis detected by MR imaging at 8 Tesla. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2007 Feb;28(2):262-6.

  9. Zhuang J, Hrabe J, Kangarlu A, Xu D, Bansal R, Branch CA, Peterson BS. Correction of eddy-current distortions in diffusion tensor images using the known directions and strengths of diffusion gradients. Magn Reson Imaging. 2006 Nov;24(5):1188-93.

  10. Zhu H, Xu D, Raz A, Hao X, Zhang H, Kangarlu A, Bansal R, Peterson BS. A statistical framework for the classification of tensor morphologies in diffusion tensor images. Magn Reson Imaging. 2006 Jun;24(5):569-82.

  11. Kangarlu A, Gahunia HK. Magnetic resonance imaging characterization of osteochondral defect repair in a goat model at 8 T. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2006 Jan;14(1):52-62.