Rico Singer
Postdoctoral Researcher
Brief Description
Rico Singer is currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher at the Radiology department of the University Medical Center Utrecht and the Image Sciences Institute. He is also affiliated with the ICube laboratory in the Integrative Multimodal Imaging in Healthcare (IMIS) team at the University of Strasbourg as a postdoctoral researcher.
Background
Rico received his MSc in Analytical Sciences, jointly awarded by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA), in 2019 and his PhD from Leiden University in 2025. During his PhD, Rico developed expertise in quantitative ultra-high-field MRI to study microstructural and metabolic changes in the zebrafish brain at 28.2 T. Following his PhD, he completed a postdoctoral project at the ICube Laboratory in Strasbourg, applying his expertise in MRI method optimization and advanced quantitative data processing to 7T mouse studies. He focused on the development and optimization of glutamate-weighted chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI and developed an open-source toolbox for CEST method optimization and data processing. Currently, his research focuses on developing advanced MRI techniques and using a multimodal approach to link imaging findings to cellular and molecular changes, combining MRI with complementary techniques including light-sheet microscopy and MALDI mass-spectrometry imaging to understand disease mechanisms in rare neurodegenerative diseases.
Recommended Publications
- R. Singer, W. Hu, L. Liu, H. J. M. de Groot, H. P. Spaink, A. Alia. Non-Invasive Regional Neurochemical Profiling of Zebrafish Brain Using Localized Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy at 28.2 T. Molecules, 30, 4320 (2025). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30214320
- R. Singer, I. Oganezova, W. Hu, L. Liu, Y. Ding, H. J. M. de Groot, H. P. Spaink, A. Alia. Ultrahigh Field Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Uncovers Intriguing Microstructural Changes in the Adult Zebrafish Brain Caused by Toll-like Receptor 2 Genomic Deletion. NMR in Biomedicine, 37, e5170 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.5170
- R. Singer, I. Oganezova, W. Hu, Y. Ding, A. Papaioannou, H. J. M. de Groot, H. P. Spaink, A. Alia. Unveiling the Exquisite Microstructural Details in Zebrafish Brain Non-Invasively Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 28.2 T. Molecules, 29, 4637 (2024). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29194637
Keywords
Ultra-high-field MRI, CEST MRI, MR spectroscopy, multimodal imaging, neurodegenerative diseases