CMRR Sponsors

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
NIBIB logo

CMRR has been funded since 1992 as a Biotechnology Research Center (BTRC) for development of advanced technology, expertise, and instrumentation in High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy. This support was provided by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) division of National Institutes of Health (NIH) until 2012. With the dissolution of NCRR, this support has been transferred to National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) as of January 2012.

As part of its mission as a BTRC, CMRR undertakes development of ultrahigh field MR imaging and spectroscopy methods, and engineering solutions, utilizes these instrumental and human resources to support COLLABORATIVE Research opportunities and SERVICE to the biomedical research community.

Keck Foundation

The W.M. Keck Foundation has been a supporter of the Center for Magnetic Resonance since the laboratory's inception. The W.M. Keck Foundation has provided major funding toward the acquisition of three of CMRR's unique, ultra high field MR systems, and the development of new directions in brain imaging.

HISTORY of SUPPORT by the W.M. KECK FOUNDATION:

Expanding the capabilities of MR imaging and spectroscopy in biomedical research using high magnetic fields is one of the central research themes at CMRR. In 1990, when the highest magnetic field used for human imaging was 1.5 Tesla, CMRR and two other research institutions initiated research in humans using a magnetic field of 4 Tesla.

The success of the 4 Tesla effort at CMRR led to the W.M. Keck Foundation for the development of the first ever 9.4 Tesla/31 cm bore magnet to explore the potential of ultrahigh magnetic fields for brain studies. The results from the research conducted at 9.4 Tesla in CMRR underscored the substantial advances possible for the study of brain function, connectivity, and neurochemistry using ultrahigh magnetic fields. Consequently, development of a 7 Tesla/90 cm bore magnet, large enough to work with humans, was initiated in 1995, leading to a working system in CMRR in 1999. The W.M. Keck Foundation, together with contributions from the NIH, NSF, and the University of Minnesota, funded the acquisition of this 7 Tesla magnet.

Using this unique 7 Tesla/90 cm MR system, CMRR investigators produced the first functional and spectroscopic studies of the human brain at magnetic fields greater than 4 Tesla and demonstrated major gains in sensitivity, image resolution, and specificity (for functional imaging), and chemical resolution ability to distinguish neurochemicals from each other (using MR in spectroscopy).

In 2002, CMRR benefited once again from major support from the W.M. Keck Foundation. The 2002 grant from the Foundation, combined with additional funding from other sources (University of Minnesota Medical and Graduate Schools, the MIND Institute, and NIH), enabled CMRR to undertake a facility expansion, acquire a 9.4 Tesla/65 cm bore magnet system, and establish capabilities in methodologies complementary to MR that significantly broadens the scope of neuroscience research conducted at the Center.

Other Sponsors

Governmental Funding

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  • National Eye Institute (NEI) 
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
  • National Institute of Aging (NIA)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
  • Department of Defense (DOD)
  • National Science Foundation (NSF)

Foundations/Corporation Funding

Please contact CMRR at cmrrinfo@umn.edu for details of MR sequences and image analysis software provided by CMRR as part of its SERVICE mission.