Dr. Noam Harel

HAREL002@umn.edu Ph.D. 2000 - University of Toronto, Department of Physiology, Collaborative Program in Neuroscience M.Sc. 1996 - University of Toronto, Department of Physiology B.Sc. 1993 - Tel- Aviv University (Israel), Biology

Professor, Radiology/CMRR, MnDRIVE Neuromodulation Researcher

Dr. Harel is a Professor in the departments of Radiology and Neurosurgery, at the University of Minnesota. After receiving his B.Sc. in biology from Tel Aviv University, Israel, Dr. Harel moved to the University of Toronto, Canada, where he received his MSc (1996) and PhD (2000) in Physiology and Neuroscience for mapping auditory areas using optical imaging technique. For his post doctoral training, Dr. Harel moved to the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), University of Minnesota where his research focused on the development of methods for high-resolution MRI and functional MRI (fMRI) applications using high magnetic fields (7T & 9.4T). In particular, Dr. Harel developed fMRI capabilities for mapping columnar and laminar organization in cerebral cortex both in human and animal models. In 2002, Dr. Harel moved to the University of Pittsburgh as a research associate and soon after returned to Minnesota and joined CMRR as a faculty member.

Dr. Harel leads the team at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) that are developing tools to visualize the anatomical structures of the the basal ganglia using a powerful (7 Tesla) MRI machine. These unique new imaging methods provide a precise map of the brain's targets areas, the different nuclei and their anatomical connections, that are critically important for the success of DBS treatment.

Dr. Rémi Patriat

PATRI108@morris.umn.edu Ph.D 2015 - University of Wisconsin, Department of Medical Physics - Neuroscience & Biostatistics minor M.Sc. 2012 - University of Wisconsin, Department of Medical Physics B.A. 2010 - University of Minnesota, Morris - Physics & Film Studies

Assistant Professor

Dr. Patriat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of Minnesota. After receiving a B.A. in Physics and Film Studies (2010) from the University of Minnesota Morris, Dr. Patriat earned a M.S (2012) and a PhD (2015) in Medical Physics from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Patriat joined the Harel Lab in 2015 as a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on ultra-high field (e.g. 7T) MRI research and its application towards the creation of patient-specific anatomy models in order to improve DBS targeting using anatomical images as well as functional and anatomical connectivity data.

Research Interests:
- Use of ultra-high field MRI technology to improve neuromodulation applications such as Deep Brain Stimulation surgery
- Studying brain disorders, including movement disorders, using high-resolution resting-state functional MRI and diffusion imaging
- Patient-specific brain modeling using ultra-high field MRI technology and high-resolution images
- Translational research focusing on neuroimaging methods and neuroscience
- Visualization and characterization of brain anatomy and connectivity networks

Dr. Oren Solomon

SOLOM267@umn.edu Ph. D. 2019 - Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, EE Ms. C. 2014 - Tel-Aviv University, EE Bs. C. 2008 - Beer-Sheva University of the Negev, EE

Dr. Oren Solomon received his B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel, in 2008, his M.Sc. degree (cum laude) in electrical engineering from Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2012 and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel in 2019.

He is currently a post-doctoral associate at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research at the University of Minnesota.

His research focus is on the development of algorithmic tools for biomedical imaging in ultrasound and magnetic resonance.

Dr. Henry Braun

HBRAUN@umn.edu Ph.D 2016 - Arizona State University, Electrical Engineering M.Sc. 2012 - Arizona State University, Electrical Engineering B.S. 2010 - Arizona State University, Electrical Engineering

Dr. Henry Braun is a researcher in the department of Radiology at the University of Minnesota. He received his BS (2010), MS (2012), and PhD (2016) in electrical engineering from Arizona State University, where his research focused on fault detection, image and video processing, compressed sensing, and inverse problems. More specifically, he developed methods for exploiting inter-frame correlations in reconstruction of compressed sensing infrared aerial video. A CMRR member since 2017, Dr. Braun joined the Harel group in 2019, where he develops and maintains data processing pipelines and acquires and processes high-field MRI imaging data.

Tara Palnitkar

PALNI003@umn.edu M.Sc. 2019 - University of Minnesota, 2019, Major: Mathematics B.A. 2016 - Bowdoin College, 2016, Major: Mathematics, Minor: Physics

Tara Palnitkar is a researcher with the department of Neurology working with the Harel Lab at the CMRR. She received a B.A. in Math from Bowdoin College (2016) and then moved to Minnesota where she earned an M.S. in Math from the University of Minnesota (2019).

After graduation, she joined the Harel Lab as a researcher and data analyst. She is now involved in every stage of the team’s research, from operating the 7T scanner to processing parcellation data.

Sarah Bedell

SBEDELL@umn.edu B.S. 2007 - Minnesota State University, Moorhead, Health Services Administration

Ms. Sarah Bedell is a Clinical Research Professionals with over 14 years’ experience in the academic setting. With formal education in Health Administration and Management, she became a certified clinical research associate through the SOCRA organization in 2010. With this training and experience, she has been able to cultivate an extensive knowledge in the area of regulations and management of study logistics. She joined her colleagues in the Harel Lab in 2016.

Past Members

Graduate Level

Yuval Duchin

Jinyoung Kim

Jacob Niederer

Cyrus Eierud

Birgit Plantinga

Iman Aganj

Undergraduate Students

Jordan Kaplan

Shai Chazin

Max Sandler

Yasmeen Almog

Ariel Shaver

Kyle Davis

Grace Wallace-Jackson

Oren Rosenberg

Jena Velji-Ibrahim