Researcher

Title

• Assistant Professor, Polytechnique Montréal (2021)
• Associate Researcher, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre (2023)

• B.Sc. in Physics (McGill University)
• M.Sc. in Medical Radiation Physics (McGill University)
• Ph.D. in Physics (McGill University)
• Postdoc in Electrical Engineering (Polytechnique Montréal)

Prof. Alonso Ortiz’ research program aims to develop new techniques that allow us to use MRI to measure brain tissue properties at the microscopic level. The goal is to use MRI to study the brain’s development at the microstructural level, to diagnose neuropathological conditions, and to monitor treatments. Achieving this requires solving complex problems in MRI, including modeling the relationship between signals that are measured with MRI and the structural properties of tissues or developing new ways to acquire MRI signals faster to ensure clinical feasibility.

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Ultra-high field MRI, low-field MRI
• Radiation therapy
• Image processing and analysis
• Biophysical modeling
• Brain and spinal cord microstructure

Career Summary

Prof. Alonso Ortiz is an MR physicist with a background in medical radiation physics, and research expertise in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). She is assistant professor of Electrical Engineering and co-director of NeuroPoly, the Neuroimaging Research Laboratory at Polytechnique Montreal. Her research is focused on developing advanced MRI techniques that range from novel acquisition schemes that improve image quality to biophysical modeling for the characterization of tissue microstructure. Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Alonso Ortiz completed her postdoctoral training at Polytechnique Montreal, and her Ph.D., M.Sc. and B.Sc. at McGill University.

Awards and Distinctions

• Contender : Discovery of the year (2021), Québec Science magazine
• Magna Cum Laude Merit Award (2020), International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
• Postdoctoral Fellowship (2021-2023), NSERC
• Postdoctoral Research Excellence Award (2020-2022), TransMedTech Institute
• Postdoctoral Scholarship Award (2020-2021), Systems, Technologies and Applications for Radiofrequency and Communications (STARaCOM)
• Doctoral Research Scholarship (2011-2016), FRQNT
• Magna Cum Laude Merit Award (2015), International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
• Doctoral Research Stipend (2013-2016), NSERC-CREATE
• Principal’s Graduate Fellowship (2009), McGill University
• Provost’s Graduate Fellowship (2009), McGill University
• Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) Award (2006)

Presentations

• “Methods for Advanced MRI”, Canadian Organization for Medical Physicists Imaging Lecture Series (2023)
• “Developing Methods for Advanced MRI”, Vanderbilt University Frontiers of Biomedical Imaging Science Lecture Series (2022)
• “Dynamic Realtime z-Shimming for Ghosting Reduction in Spinal Cord MRI”, Harvard/MIT Workshop on MRI Acquisition and Reconstruction (2021)
• “Brain Microstructure and Relaxation”, 30th Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2021)

Publications

• E. Alonso-Ortiz, D. Papp, A. D’Astous, J. Cohen-Adad. Dynamic shimming in the cervical spinal cord for multi-echo gradient-echo imaging at 3 T. Neuroimage: Reports 2023 3 (1), 100150
• A. D’Astous, G. Cereza, D. Papp, K. M. Gilbert, J. P. Stockmann, E. Alonso-Ortiz, J. Cohen-Adad. Shimming toolbox: An open-source software toolbox for B0 and B1 shimming in MRI. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 2002 doi: 10.1002/mrm.29528
• J. Cohen-Adad, J., Alonso-Ortiz, E., et al. Comparison of multi-center MRI protocols for visualizing the spinal cord gray matter. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 2022 doi:10.1002/mrm.29249  
• Cohen-Adad, J., Alonso-Ortiz, E., et al. Generic acquisition protocol for quantitative MRI of the spinal cord. Nature Protocols 16:4611-4621 (2021).
• Cohen-Adad, J., Alonso-Ortiz, E., et al. Open-access quantitative MRI data of the spinal cord and reproducibility across participants, sites and manufacturers. Nature Scientific Data 8:219 (2021).
• Alonso-Ortiz, E., Levesque, I. R., and Pike, G. B. Impact of magnetic susceptibility anisotropy at 3 T and 7 T on T2*-based myelin water fraction imaging. Neuroimage 182:370-378 (2018).
• Alonso-Ortiz, E., Levesque, I. R., and Pike, G. B. Multi-gradient-echo myelin water fraction imaging: Comparison to the multi-echo-spin-echo technique. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 79(3):1439-1446 (2018).
• Alonso-Ortiz, E., Levesque, I. R., Paquin, R. and Pike, G. B. Field Inhomogeneity Correction for Gradient Echo Myelin Water Fraction Imaging. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 78(1):49-57 (2017).
• Alonso-Ortiz, E., Levesque, I. R. and Pike, G. B. MRI-Based Myelin Water Imaging: A Technical Review. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 73(1):70-81 (2015).