The idea for a new type of neuroimaging system that uses light and optic fiber-bundle detectors didn’t originate at the Beckman Institute. But its development into a practical method for imaging brain activity is a direct result of the interdisciplinary research approach at the Institute.
Monica Fabiani and her husband and collaborator, Gabriele Gratton, have spent several years creating EROS, which stands for event-related optical signal. Fabiani and Gratton are psychology professors and co-directors of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory. There they employ fMRI and other imaging techniques to study the neural basis of cognitive processes.
EROS is unique among imaging techniques because it provides a dynamic view of brain activity. The development of such a technology required collaborating with engineers and physicists.
“On the one hand we are psychologists, so we needed interaction with colleagues who do cognitive research,” Fabiani said. “On the other hand, we needed interactions with engineers and physicists, which is not a typical thing. But in that respect Beckman is absolutely perfect.”
A member of the Cognitive Neuroscience group at Beckman, Fabiani has been active at the Institute in numerous ways. In 2005, her contributions and responsibilities increased considerably when she was named Co-chair of the Biological Intelligence Research Initiative.
“Professionally, I think it’s an honor, but I didn’t expect it,” Fabiani said. “I’m looking forward to it because it’s the type of committee work that I enjoy because it’s tightly related to research. I really care about Beckman and what happens to this institution.”
Fabiani said one of the main reasons she and Gratton are at the University of Illinois is because of the opportunity the Beckman Institute affords to join forces with scientists from other disciplines. They wrote five grant proposals in the spring of 2005 for new research projects. The projects will involve a diverse range of researchers, from neuroscientists and engineers to statisticians, and four of the grant proposals involved new collaborations with other Beckman researchers. Sometimes, these types of interdisciplinary collaborations can materialize over a leisurely lunch at the Beckman Cafe.
“That’s the kind of thing that happens when you talk to people here,” Fabiani said.