About

Dr. Elizabeth Hutchinson is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. She leads the Multi-Scale Brain Imaging Lab (MSBIL), which focuses on the accurate and validated mapping of microscale cellular features and physiologic phenomena across the entire brain. Her research aims to identify novel non-invasive markers of brain pathology, primarily through the application of diffusion-based MRI strategies in pre-clinical and translational models of healthy and diseased brains. Her ongoing projects include the comparative analysis of microstructural MRI techniques across species, the identification of MRI markers related to Alzheimer's pathology in human post-mortem tissue, in-vivo validation of MRI measurements of cerebrospinal fluid transport, and high-throughput rodent brain imaging of traumatic brain injury outcomes and therapeutic interventions. Dr. Hutchinson's work is dedicated to advancing knowledge, diagnostic tools, and treatments for human brain disorders through collaborative research efforts.

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Emergency medicine
• Virology
• Anesthesia
• Pediatrics
• Physical therapy
• Intensive care medicine

Selected publications

• Estimation and comparison of brainstem fiber orientation via diffusion MRI tractography and polarization sensitive OCT

  2026-03-04

  articleSenior author

  dMRI-based tractography methods reconstruct neural pathways but often lack detailed microstructural information due to limited spatial resolution. To address this, we compared fiber orientation distributions in the human brainstem obtained through Constrained Spherical Deconvolution tractography and polarization-sensitive OCT (PS-OCT). While dMRI data were acquired using a 7T MRI scanner, PS-OCT offered high-resolution optic axis maps by leveraging the birefringence of myelinated fibers. We analyzed three brainstem specimens representing different stages of neurodegeneration. Preliminary results revealed strong agreement between the two modalities in regions with coherent fiber structures, while PS-OCT captured finer angular details in areas with complex architecture. These findings suggest that PS-OCT can enhance dMRI by validating and refining fiber orientation estimates, offering a promising complementary approach for advancing neuroimaging techniques used to study neurodegenerative diseases.

  PublisherDOI

• Separable multidimensional MRI signatures of cellular and structural pathology in Alzheimer’s disease

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-04-06 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) reflects progressive disruption of cellular and microstructural organization, yet the biological specificity of MRI signals remains incompletely understood. Multidimensional diffusion-relaxation MRI (MD-MRI) resolves sub-voxel tissue heterogeneity, offering a potential framework to link imaging signals to underlying pathology. We tested the hypothesis that neuronal, glial and white matter pathologies in AD occupy separable regions of diffusion-relaxation space and generate spatially organized imaging signatures linked to cognitive impairment. We integrated ex vivo MD-MRI with co-registered histology from 12 human donors spanning a range of Braak stages and pathological severity. Using nested cross-validated elastic net modeling, we predicted voxelwise Aβ, pTau, microglia and myelin burden from the multidimensional diffusion-relaxation density distribution. Regional associations were assessed across hippocampal subfields and white matter, and clinical relevance was evaluated by relating MRI-predicted pathology to Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Distinct diffusion-relaxation components were preferentially associated with different pathological markers, indicating separable microstructural signatures. Voxelwise MRI-derived predictions were significantly associated with histological measures of myelin (ρ = 0.77), pTau (ρ = 0.62), and microglia (ρ = 0.61), with weaker correspondence for Aβ (ρ = 0.45). Regionally, predicted pathology recapitulated known patterns of selective vulnerability, with elevated pTau and microglial signal in hippocampal subfields and dominant myelin-associated signal in white matter (p < 0.0001). Importantly, higher predicted pTau density in the hippocampus was strongly associated with worse cognitive performance (ρ = -0.88, p = 0.0014), with a moderate association in white matter (ρ = -0.66, p = 0.036), suggesting that tau-related microstructural alterations within both gray and white matter contribute to cognitive impairment. By directly linking multidimensional MRI signatures to histologically verified cellular pathology, this study demonstrates that AD-related processes manifest as distinct and spatially organized diffusion-relaxation signatures. These findings provide mechanistic insight into the microstructural basis of MRI contrasts and support the potential of MD-MRI to map regionally specific neuropathological processes in AD. As clinically feasible MD-MRI acquisition protocols continue to emerge, translation of these spectral signatures to in vivo imaging may enable more mechanistically informed assessment of aging and dementia.

  PublisherDOI

• Double diffusion encoded MRI to identify Alzheimer’s disease pathology in postmortem brainstem by Diffusion Tensor Subspace Imaging (DiTSI)

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  articleSenior author

  Motivation: Diffusion MRI may provide clinically relevant markers of degenerative pathology in Alzheimer's disease if the specificity of the frameworks can be improved. Double diffusion encoding frameworks are promising for their improved selectivity. Goal(s): Optimization of methods and initial description of alterations in postmortem brainstem imaging with diffusion MRI including single diffusion frameworks of DTI and MAP-MRI as well as the DDE DiTSI framework. Approach: High-resolution, high-quality diffusion MRI scans over a comprehensive encoding range were used to map metric in healthy and AD pathologic brain stem tissue Results: Four anisotropy metrics across the three frameworks were different in contrast and alteration with pathology. Impact: If double diffusion encoding MRI can be optimized for the detection of specific pathology in Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders, a new class of improved imaging markers may be possible.

  PublisherDOI

• Liquid Like Solids: A promising, novel multicompartment diffusion MRI phantom material

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  articleSenior author

  Motivation: Traditional single-compartment phantoms lack control over pore size, are more indicative of water restriction, and have limited biological relevance. Goal(s): Evaluate liquid-like solids (LLS) as a potential dual-compartment phantom material for dMRI. Approach: LLS phantoms, prepared with different gel concentrations, were imaged with b=0-2500s/mm2 and the signal curves were compared with free water and silica gel, a restricted phantom material. Additionally, several frameworks were evaluated for multi-compartment dependence. Results: LLS phantoms show double-exponential DWI signal decay and gel concentration correspondence with dMRI-estimated volume fraction, with Gaussian and non-Gaussian frameworks showing measurable bias, supporting this material's utility in refining multicompartment models. Impact: Developing biologically relevant multicompartment materials as phantoms can support the advancement of dual tensor and compartment imaging models, allowing innovation and development in more sophisticated diffusion imaging techniques.

  PublisherDOI

• Monte Carlo Simulation of Multiparameter Effects in Double Diffusion Encoding MRI

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  articleSenior author

  Motivation: Double Diffusion Encoding (DDE) MRI presents a promising approach for probing tissue microstructure, yet its clinical utility is challenged by the complexity of multiparameter optimization. Goal(s): This study aims to investigate the effects of DDE encoding parameters and tissue microstructure and geometry on the diffusion signal. Approach: Monte Carlo simulations using DifSim were conducted, varying Τm and Δ across three fiber geometries: coherent, tilted, and crossing fibers. Results: The pore sizes of coherent were extracted from diffusion signal. Sin(2θ) modulation was observed in both tilted and crossing fibers, allowing differentiation based on the ratio of their signal amplitudes. Impact: Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate a promising method for studying the effects of parameters in DDE, aiding in the optimization of pulse sequences to obtain specific microstructural information and facilitating the translation to MRI scanners.

  PublisherDOI

• Virtual histology of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in the ex vivo human brain using diffusion-T2 relaxation correlation multidimensional MRI

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  article

  Motivation: Due to the complexity of brain tissue, single-contrast MRI approaches often lack the sensitivity and specificity to identify a specific pathology. Goal(s): Our goal was to develop a method to predict specific Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathologies or their cellular features from diffusion-T2 relaxation correlation density distributions. Approach: We adopted a multimodal approach by integrating and co-registering histological and MRI datasets from 12 human donors with mixed AD diagnoses. We used elastic net-regularized linear regression to predict histological stains from the diffusion-T2 density distribution. Results: We could predict voxelwise amyloid beta, phosphorylated tau, microglia, and myelin content (cross-validated R2=0.32,0.55,0.49,0.60 and Pearson correlation 0.57,0.74,0.70,0.78, respectively). Impact: Ex vivo diffusion-T2 relaxation correlation MRI can be used to detect multiple Alzheimer's disease pathologies. This approach could lead the way for advanced in vivo characterization of pathologies related to aging and dementia.

  PublisherDOI

• Microstructural changes in locus coeruleus-cortical projections in aged bonnet macaques are independent of myelin loss

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  article

  Motivation: Little is understood about the effects of normal aging on the locus coeruleus and whether quantitative MRI maps are sensitive enough to detect changes. Goal(s): To understand which MRI maps show sensitivity to LC changes in high resolution ex vivo imaging. Approach: We utilized aged and adult female bonnet macaque specimens. Whole brains underwent an extensive ex vivo protocol to generate comprehensive and complimentary sets of quantitative maps. Results: We found subtle changes in restriction based metrics with age in the LC nucleus itself and alterations in diffusivity metrics but not volume changes or changes in measures of myelin content in LC projections. Impact: Our study reports subtle changes in the LC and its projections and highlights the benefit of combining multiple quantitative MRI maps. This suggests that incorporating advanced diffusion maps to understand microstructural changes in clinical applications could be beneficial.

  PublisherDOI

• Evaluating Age-Related Brain Changes in the Female Ferret

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  articleSenior author

  Motivation: An open-ended question in normal aging is how the brain changes over time and which regions are most susceptible to age-related changes. Goal(s): Using bias-free voxel-wise approach and evaluating warp fields using the logarithm of the determinant of the Jacobian (LogJ), we investigated age-related changes in the female ferret. Approach: We imaged four female ferrets at 1-2 years of age and later at 3-4 years of age using diffusion tensor imaging. Results: Average LogJ maps revealed 24.8% reduction in the superior colliculus. Impact: Voxel-wise morphology in the ferret allows us to track age-related changes in a longitudinal fashion.

  PublisherDOI

• Two-Year Outcomes after Selective Early Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus with Ibuprofen in Preterm Babies. Follow-Up of Baby-OSCAR - A Randomised Controlled Trial

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Bias-Free Multi-dimensional MRI Analysis to Resolve Age-related Microstructural Differences in the Ex-Vivo Female Bonnet Macaque Brain

  Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition · 2025-09-16

  articleSenior author

  Motivation: Age-related changes in the brain involve multiple biological processes, thus requiring advanced analysis approaches of multi-variate MRI maps are necessary. Goal(s): We applied a support vector machine classifier to multivariate MRI maps in order to identify groups of metrics most predictive of age-related change. Approach: High-resolution MRI was acquired in seven female bonnet macaque post-mortem brain specimens ranging in age from 10-34 years. Voxel-wise binary classification was performed with all-metrics, diffusion-only, and relaxometry-only co-registered datasets. Results: Age classification using all-metrics dataset achieved high accuracy (&gt;90%). The insula had significant age accuracy classification (59%) and were explained by R2* and RD maps. Impact: Multi-variate approaches, such as a support vector machine classifier are advantageous when assessing aging and show potential in being applied to neurodegenerative disease studies.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Carlo Pierpaoli

  122 shared

• M. Okan İrfanoğlu

  National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

  69 shared

• Michal E. Komlosh

  Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine

  58 shared

• Janet C. Rucker

  Neurology, Inc

  56 shared

• Zhongyang Zhang

  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  56 shared

• Neda Sadeghi

  National Institutes of Health

  54 shared

• Susan C. Schwerin

  Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine

  45 shared

• Chris Zalewski

  National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

  42 shared

Education

• PhD, Neuroscience

  University of Wisconsin Madison

  2009

• BS, Physics

  Pennsylvania State University

  2002