The MR Facility is a multi-disciplinary academic facility which hosts a community of scientists and clinicians using imaging to investigate genetic, cardiovascular, neurological and metabolic causes of disease. There are long-standing collaborations with numerous fields of basic science including physics, mathematics and bioinformatics involving Cook, O'Regan (Institute of Clinical Sciences, Medicine), Rueckert (Department of Computing, Engineering) and the EBI Cambridge (Birney). They have pioneered the use of time resolved high resolution human MR imaging and segmentation for genome wide association studies. Such studies have uncovered novel candidate genes for cardiac hypertrophy and, using motion data sets and machine learning to analyse 300 patients with pulmonary hypertension, have shown that quantitative phenotyping is predictive for survival. 

Equipment
The unit is equipped with a 3T Siemens Prisma (with 3D stimulus presentation) and a 1.5T Siemens Aera (including an exercise ergometer) with applications including fMRI, multinuclear spectroscopy, DTI, cardiovascular and whole body imaging. We perform translational and clinical imaging research using new imaging technologies, interventions and modelling techniques for proof of concept studies through to large-scale population cohorts. The unit is also equipped for dynamic contrast enhanced studies, adenosine stress MR and real-time exercise imaging. We have numerous collaborations with scientists in machine learning, biostatistics and genomics to support a variety of projects.