Two researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have been awarded the coveted Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for their work on improving imaging processes in medicine and material sciences. Prof. Dr. Jana Hutter hopes to develop innovative MRI procedures that will deliver especially high-contrast images of the living organism. Prof. Dr. Philipp Pelz is optimizing imaging and analysis methods in electron microscopy in order to find out more about the structure of materials at the atomic scale. The ERC Starting Grant entails up to 2.5 million euros in funding over a funding period of five years.
Hopes to obtain more detailed images of living tissues: Prof. Dr. Jana Hutter
“Until now, we have had to immobilize the organism in order to get good images,” Jana Hutter explains. “My aim is to adjust our imaging procedure to the moving body.” The professor of Smart Imaging and Data Profiling at FAU conducts research into pathology-oriented modeling and the physical foundations of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In her ERC-funded project EARTHWORM, she focuses on diseases of the intestines and the womb, for instance Crohn’s disease and adenomyosis. “Especially in the case of adenomyosis, it can take years until the disease is diagnosed as the symptoms are very vague,” the mathematician explains. Another challenge for an accurate diagnosis is the fact that the affected organs have to be immobilized using drugs in order to get as high-resolution and detailed MRI images as possible. This prevents physicians from gaining an insight into the dynamic processes that are an important part of the etiology of these illnesses.
Hutter hopes to develop MRI technology further until this immobilization procedure is no longer necessary. She is combining traditional MRI devices with sensors that react within milliseconds to movements of the organs, adjust the recording process accordingly and combine various contrasts to form one image. The process is supported by artificial intelligence: “We will train the AI with thousands of anonymous MRI images archived at Uniklinikum Erlangen,” Hutter explains. “Machine learning algorithms help us to compensate for blurring caused by movement and receive detailed images that can be used to make a more accurate diagnosis.”
One of the things Jana Hutter most appreciates about her research is that she does not only develop and optimize technologies, but also has the opportunity to work with patients. “I completed my doctoral degree in Erlangen on MRI technologies, before going to King’s College in London, or more specifically St. Thomas’ Hospital,” she explains. “I was involved in various projects focusing predominantly on women’s health and the development of fetuses and newborn babies.” In Erlangen, Jana Hutter continues to have close links to clinical practice, as well as to her contacts in London: her former working group at King’s College is also involved in the new ERC project.
Jana Hutter completed her Bachelor’s degree in Erlangen in 2006 and her Master’s degree in applied mathematics in Rennes (France) in 2011. After completing her doctoral degree in MR-angiography reconstruction, she went to King’s College London, where she conducted research into functional MR imaging, in particular with women, fetuses and newborn babies. Jana Hutter has been professor of Smart Imaging and Data Profiling at FAU since 2023.
Hopes to lift the curtain on the mysteries of radiation-sensitive materials: Prof. Dr. Philipp Pelz
“The ability to view the atomic level and at the same time discover all there is to know about the involved elements is a dream for material scientists,” says Philipp Pelz. The professor of Computational Materials Microscopy at FAU hopes to get a little bit closer to this dream with his ERC-funded project HyperScaleEM, in which he is developing methods for high-volume atomic 3D imaging using electron microscopes. His research covers three different areas. First, very light elements, such as hydrogen and oxygen, which are barely detectable using more traditional methods. Second, alloys that are difficult to characterize due to the fact that the included elements have a similar contrast and are therefore difficult to tell apart. And third, nano and quantum electronics,” explains Pelz. “Here, structures are so small that the three dimensional positions and bonds between the individual atoms play a major role. I hope to make this visible.”
His approach involves optimizing both technology and imaging algorithms. “Thanks to the funding, I can purchase the optimal equipment, for example a spectrometer,” Philip Pelz explains. “In addition, we are also working with cameras that are capable of directly filming electrons without having to take the more roundabout approach of using light signals.” At the same time, Pelz is conducting research into computer-assisted imaging and analysis methods. His research is based on the latest findings in machine learning. “Electron microscopes deliver a wide range of imaging channels. We hope to extract as much information as possible from the data by correlating these channels with each other. As a result, electron microscopes should become more autonomous and deliver three dimensional images of complex samples in atomic resolution.”
The ERC project offers Philipp Pelz the ideal opportunity to connect his academic interests. He focused on electron microscopy during his doctoral degree, after studying physics and computer science in Munich. “For me it is the perfect combination: I need a knowledge of physics to understand how the microscope collects data and computer science to gain information from the data.” By choosing to research in Erlangen, Pelz is also returning home: he grew up in Nuremberg and completed his Abitur at the Melanchthon Gymnasium in the city.
Philipp Pelz studied computer science and applied physics at TU München, chemistry at Montpellier (France) and material sciences at the University of Turin In 2018, he completed his doctoral degree at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg on computer imaging and electron microscopy. From 2019 until 2022 he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley (USA). Since 2022, Pelz has been professor of Computational Materials Microscopy at FAU.