Challenging Assumptions About Magnetic Resonance Technology and Applications in a Changing World

Magnetic resonance is a phenomenon that, despite the underlying simplicity of its fundamental physical mechanisms, has proven to be a remarkably rich source of information about the structure and function of materials. The Gordon Research Conference on In Vivo Magnetic Resonance represents a unique forum in which participants can explore the extraordinary range of in vivo applications in which MR has been brought to bear, bridging fields from physics to chemistry to biology to medicine, and bridging spatiotemporal scales from single atoms to human populations. In vivo MR is a lively area of ongoing research, with a long history of invention and reinvention. New methods and technologies continue to emerge, enabling new biological and medical applications. That said, our field is beginning to face new challenges in keeping pace with a rapidly changing world. In addition to increasingly disruptive innovations from within the field, we are reckoning with disruptive forces in the world at large, such as the advent of new generations of artificial intelligence, the increasing prevalence of cheap electronics and new sensors, and seismic shifts in the healthcare landscape. The 2018 meeting will focus on emerging trends that promise to transform our field, changing both the day to day use and the underlying value proposition of MR. Sessions will address a) recent developments that challenge longstanding assumptions about the design of MR systems and the acquisition of MR data; b) new modes of extracting information from those data, including a recent revolution in understanding the microstructural origins of MR signals in complex biological tissues, and a burgeoning role for AI in MR; d) new modes of analyzing biological neural networks and visualizing tissue characteristics; and e) initiatives to enhance the clinical value of MR, both for high-efficiency modern medical diagnostics, and for guidance of new modes of therapy. In keeping with long and treasured traditions of Gordon Research Conferences, young scientists and experienced thought leaders will share space at the podium, in the lecture hall, on the fields, and among the hiking trails in and around Proctor Academy. Current trainees interested in In Vivo MR are particularly welcome, not only at the conference itself, but also at our inaugural Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on the preceding weekend.