Susie Huang MD, PhD

Susie Huang, MD, PhD, is a board-certified neuroradiologist and physician-scientist specializing in the development and translation of novel MRI techniques for investigating structure, function, and pathology within the brain. Her doctoral training in physical chemistry and subsequent residency in radiology and postdoctoral training at MGH provided her with a strong foundation in biophysical modeling, basic and clinical neuroscience, and the design and evaluation of hardware, software, and pulse sequences for pushing the limits of contrast and sensitivity in MRI.

Her current research centers on the development and translation of advanced diffusion MRI methods for probing tissue microstructure in the central nervous system. As part of the NIH Blueprint-funded Human Connectome Project, she contributed to the first publications showcasing the unprecedented sensitivity and resolution of axonal microstructure made possible by the 300 mT/m gradients on the MGH Connectome MRI scanner.

She has since developed methods for mapping axon diameter and density across white matter tracts throughout the living human brain, which offer insight into white matter damage in disease processes such as multiple sclerosis, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the success of these efforts, she now serves as the lead Principal Investigator on a $14-million NIH BRAIN Initiative multi-institutional collaborative grant to develop the next-generation Connectome MRI scanner for multiscale imaging of the human brain.