16. Annual Scientific Symposium Ultrahigh Field Magnetic Resonance: Clinical Needs, Research Promises and Technical Solutions

Dear colleagues and friends,

Great thanks for your interest in the 16th Scientific Symposium on Clinical Needs, Research Promises and Technical Solutions in Ultrahigh Field Magnetic Resonance, taking place in Berlin on September 18^th 2026.

Imaging provides a unique bridge across scales and time in life science and medicine—from molecular and cellular processes to whole-body function, and from ultrafast biological events to long-term population studies. By combining imaging with data science, we can transform complex observations into a more integrated understanding of tissues, organs, and organisms, enabling earlier disease detection and intervention.

Magnetic resonance has evolved rapidly over the past decades, enabling an expanding range of applications in basic, translational and clinical research. At the same time, increasingly complex and high-dimensional imaging datasets have made data science indispensable to modern MRI research. Artificial intelligence (AI) is now transforming image reconstruction, acquisition, automated analysis, quantitative biomarker development and the integration of imaging with clinical and molecular data. 

These advances offer new opportunities for earlier disease detection, improved patient stratification, and more precise monitoring of disease progression and treatment response. Advancing this field requires interdisciplinary collaboration, international partnerships, and a shared vision that connects technology, biological understanding, and clinical impact.

The symposium will bring together life scientists, engineers, data scientists and clinicians at all career stages, from students and trainees to advanced users, or technical experts to discuss current clinical needs, emerging research opportunities and innovative technical solutions in MRI. It is a platform for interdisciplinary exchange, new collaborations and discussion of how data science and AI can help shape the future of imaging research.

Scientific Program

The scientific program comprises 4 sessions, all balancing technical developments, clinical applications and hot topics related to the synergies between imaging and data science. The scientific program is designed to lay extensive bridges between disciplines to enable the translation of multimodal AI technology into clinically-relevant imaging guided diagnostics, therapy monitoring and digital health applications. We are very much honored to present extraordinary speakers including MR technology leaders, data science specialists and distinguished clinical experts - all bridging disciplinary boundaries and stimulating the imaging and data science communities to throw further weight behind the solution of unsolved problems and unmet clinical needs.

Time (CEST)	Title	Affiliation
09:00	WELCOME
	Thoralf Niendorf, Min-Chi Ku, Berlin, Germany
	KEYNOTE LECTURE
09:10	Seeing the Unseen: Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 10.5 T	Kamil Ugurbil, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
	SCIENTIFIC SESSION I
	chair: Jutta Ellermann, Minneapolis, USA
	Min-Chi Ku, Berlin, Germany
	GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER: CLINICAL NEEDS AND RESEARCH PROMISES OF CARDIOVASCULAR, BODY AND METABOLIC MR
09:40	Taking the Strain: Assessment of Myocardial Fiber Function at 7.0 T and 3.0 T	Siqin Liu, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
10:00	UHF Clinical Imaging Outside the Brain with 5T MRI	Yongquan Ye,  MR R&C United Imaging Healthcare Europe
10:20	Insights from the German National Cohort: Native T1 Mapping of the Heart Reveals Associations with Sex, Age and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors	Clemens Ammann, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
10:40	Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Applications in Diabetes Research	Vera Schrauwen-Hinderling, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Düsseldorf, Germany
11:00	Poster Power Session (3 x 3 min)
11:10	PANEL DISCUSSION: CARDIAC AND BODY MRI at UHF
11:25	COFFEE BREAK /  RELAXATION WITH LIVE MUSIC
	SCIENTIFIC SESSION II
	chair:   Bruno Quesson, Bordeaux, France
	Sonia Waiczies, Berlin, Germany
	GETTING TO THE MATTER OF THE BRAIN: CLINCAL NEEDS AND RESEARCH PROMISES FOR NEUROVASCULAR UHF-MR AND RELATED FIELDS
11:45	Looking for Central Vein Signs: Simultaneous T2, T2*, and R2′ Mapping for Multiple Sclerosis Using Nonlinear Model-Based Reconstruction	Jose Raul Velasquez Vides, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
12:05	Artificial Intelligence in Brain MRI: Insights into Depression, Anxiety, and Alcohol Use from the German National Cohort	Julius Wiegert, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
12:25	Hot or Cold fMRI at 7.0 T: Thermal Signal Processing in the Insular Cortex Follows Architectural Principles	Henning Reimann, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
12:45	Mapping Brain Microstructure Beyond the Human Brain: Diffusion UHF-MRI of Living Cortical Organoids	Tatiana Nikolaeva, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
13:05	Poster Power Session (3 x 3 min)
13:15	PANEL DISCUSSION: BRAIN MRI at UHF
13:30	LUNCH BREAK
	SCIENTIFIC SESSION III
	chair: Vera Schrauwen-Hinderling, Düsseldorf, Germany
	Jason Millward, Berlin, Germany
	TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH: FROM BLUE SKY EXPLORATIONS EN ROUTE TO CLINICAL APPLICATIONS
14:15	Sea to Summit: Progress in Preclinical MR at Ultrahigh and Extreme Magnetic Fields	Tim Wokrina, Bruker Biospin MRI GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany
14:35	Unmasking Brain Fluid Dynamics under Awake Conditions: The Path to Translation	Ryszard Gomółka, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
14:55	Integrative Ecophysiology: MRI and MRS in View of Climate Change	Christian Bock, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
15:15	Guardian of the Body's Inner Ocean: Probing the Tubule System with Quantitative MRI from Experimental Models to Humans	Ehsan Tasbihi, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
15:35	New Frontiers in Spectroscopy: From Optimal Control to Quantitative Metabolic Imaging	Clemens Diwoky, University of Graz, Austria
15:55	Poster Power Session (3 x 3 min)
16:05	PANEL DISCUSSION: TRANSLATIONAL MRI at UHF
16:20	COFFEE BREAK / RELAXATION WITH LIVE MUSIC
	SCIENTIFIC SESSION IV
	chair:  Wulf-Ingo Jung, Ettlingen. Germany
	Sonia Waiczies, Berlin, Germany
	LOOKING AT THE HORIZON
16:45	The Invisible Heat, Revealed: Ultrafast MR Thermometry for Monitoring of Thermal Therapy	Bruno Quesson, University of Bordeaux, France
17:05	Beyond: Metamaterial Antennas Enhance MRI of the Eye and Brain at 7.0 T	Thoralf Niendorf, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
17:25	From Physics to Learning: Trustworthy AI as a bridge in Quantitative MRI	Xinqi Li, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
17:45	Nova Terra: Progress in Clinical Ultrahigh Field MRI at 7.0 T	Siemens, Erlangen, Germany
18:05	PANEL DISCUSSION: FUTURE OF UHF MRI
	chair:  Thoralf Niendorf, Berlin, Germany
18:20	AWARDS & ADJOURN

Poster sessions

The scientific program will be paralleled by a poster session where all posters are made available electronically. We are looking forward to your poster contributions which will be all considered for the symposium’s poster price contest. We wish to encourage those of you who are courageous to walk the extra mileage. We have included numerous slots of 3 min speedy poster power presentations into the program. This will give a large number of poster presenters the opportunity to be in the spotlight of the audience. 

Important Dates

Abstract Submission Deadline: Tuesday, August 25th 2026, 06:00 p.m. CEST

Registration deadline: Tuesday, August 25th 2026, 06:00 p.m. CEST

Information

CONFERENCE OFFICE:

Carolin Bechtloff
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC)
Robert-Rössle-Straße 10
13125 Berlin

E-Mail: E-Mail: MRsymposium@mdc-berlin.de

Magnetic Resonance

Thoralf Niendorf