The Biomedical Imaging and Technology PhD Training Program offered by NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences trains students in the development of high-impact biomedical imaging technologies, with the ultimate goal of advancing day-to-day clinical practice.

A Convergence of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Our program offers unique training that combines taught curriculum with hands-on research conducted within interdisciplinary translational teams of basic scientists, clinicians, and industry developers.

Biomedical imaging is an inherently interdisciplinary field. Research and development in imaging instrumentation as well as in image acquisition, reconstruction, and analysis involves physics, biophysics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, and computer science. Meanwhile, research into the application of imaging techniques and technologies falls within the medical domain of radiology and across several medical subdisciplines, including neuroscience, cardiology, orthopedics, and oncology.

For successful imaging scientists, the ability to think independently and to collaborate effectively with colleagues from different disciplines and organizational cultures is essential. As a student in our program, you develop these skills from your first lab rotation to your PhD thesis defense. Learn more about our curriculum.

State-of-the-Art Imaging Technology

During your PhD training, you pursue research at NYU Langone’s Department of Radiology and work closely with investigators at the Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI²R).

We offer access to state-of-the-art instrumentation that comprises clinical and research-only human MRI systems, a joint human PET-MR system, as well as preclinical micro-MRI and micro-PET/CT systems. The Department of Radiology runs a comprehensive radiofrequency (RF) engineering laboratory for construction of MRI RF coils and a radiochemistry facility for production of PET tracers. Substantial high-performance computing clusters maintained by our joint imaging research centers put powerful resources for machine learning research at the fingertips of our PhD trainees.

NYU Langone’s scientific cores and shared resources also include preclinical imaging and microscopy laboratories.

Translational Research Focus

Our program’s faculty are recognized leaders in translational development of emerging medical imaging technologies and have end-to-end expertise in taking innovations from ideas to prototypes to clinical tools.

Mentored by accomplished investigators, our students apply newly learned skills to the forefront of biomedical imaging inquiry. Our PhD trainees have co-developed free-breathing MRI methods now used in imaging clinics around the world; contributed to development of machine learning methods for dramatically accelerating MRI or helping radiologists diagnose breast cancer; and built ultra-flexible MRI detectors, gaining expertise in novel coil technology invented by our scientists. Learn more about our mentoring faculty.

Our joint imaging research centers are closely integrated with an active radiology clinic, and our work on new methods and technologies is driven by ongoing exposure to pressing medical problems. Major medical application areas include neurologic disorders, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disease, breast and prostate cancer, as well as liver and renal function and disease.

The Biomedical Imaging and Technology PhD Training Program also has strong relationships with other departments throughout NYU Langone and with several schools across NYU. Many of our faculty members hold joint appointments at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. In collaboration with NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU's Center for Data Science offers a PhD in data science with a medical track, taught in part by members of our faculty. In addition, we work closely with industry partners such as Siemens Healthineers and Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research.

Students come to our program from a variety of backgrounds and each graduate leaves as an independent scientist skilled in methodical approaches to complex research and development problems, and experienced in collaborative interdisciplinary teamwork required for success in translational biomedicine. Learn more about our students and alumni.

Hear about our biomedical imaging and technology training program from a faculty member and graduate student. Watch the video below.

For more videos, visit the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences virtual tour.

Biomedical Imaging and Technology Training Program Leadership

Riccardo Lattanzi, PhD, Program director

Steven Baete, PhD, Graduate advisor

Contact Us

For more information about our biomedical imaging and technology program, contact Riccardo Lattanzi, PhD, program director, at riccardo.lattanzi@nyulangone.org or Steven Baete, PhD, graduate advisor, at steven.baete@nyulangone.org.

For more information about graduate programs at Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, email vilcek-info@nyulangone.org.