Pioneer in MRI Technology Speaks at MPFI’s Science Meets Music

Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience welcomed Jens Frahm as the featured speaker at the institute’s “Science Meets Music” on March 4. Close to 400 audience members gathered to hear Frahm discuss his work developing technology that dramatically speeds up MRI times and imaging quality. The evening’s musical guest was tenor Michael Paul Amante who delighted the audience to a variety of popular songs from films, musicals, and operas. The event took place at Benjamin Hall at the Benjamin Upper School.

Jens Frahm is Director of Biomedical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. Along with his team, Frahm invented FLASH (i.e., rapid gradient-echo) MRI which allowed for more than a 100-fold reduction in measuring time and emerged as one of the cornerstones of modern MRI. Current advances mark another breakthrough toward real-time MRI, i.e. the recording of MRI movies at very high temporal resolution.

Singer Michael Amante has been celebrated by audiences and critics alike around the world. Included in Michael’s many wide-ranging credits is an Emmy nomination for his self-titled PBS television special. Additionally, in 2002, Michael was listed as the number one classical artist of the year in Billboard Magazine’s year-end review. His sold-out venues consist of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Heinz Hall and the nation’s top-performing arts centers, renowned casinos, and luxury resorts. Music for the Science Meets Music series is generously underwritten by Becky and Jimmy Mayer.

Members of the Max Planck Florida Brain Trust gathered for a special reception before the lecture and performance. In attendance were Becky and Jimmy Mayer, Bill and Nancy Schneider, Angela Pica, Kim Hammond, and Betsy Gonzalez, just to name a few.

Science Meets Music was originally planned to return on April 1, 2020, with Dr. Silvia Cappello and pianist Madison Yan. Due to the ongoing global health situation, and in the interest of public health and safety, MPFI has canceled the event. Science Meets Music will return next year with a full schedule to inform and delight attendees.