The Seventeenth lecture in the Alumni Lecture Series was delivered by Dr. Harish Poptani 

Centre for Preclinical Imaging, Department of Molecular & Clinical Cancer Medicine, Institute of Systems, Molecular & Integrative Biology, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK. Dr. Poptani was introduced to the audience by his batchmate Dr. Sangeeta Srivastava who mentioned about his achievements. Prof. Abha Bishnoi welcomed him by presenting him the Departmental memento.

Dr. Poptani gave a talk on the topic “Role of MRI/MRS in the diagnosis and monitoring of treatment response of brain tumours”. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) are critical tools in the diagnosis and monitoring of brain tumors. He described the basic principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Further he talked about the clinical issues/dilemmas for diagnosis and monitoring treatment response in glioblastomas,

the deadliest form of brain tumour in adults. He went through specific examples where novel and quantitative MRI/MRS methods have played a critical role in addressing these issues using research in both animal models as well as in patients with glioblastomas.Prof.

Anil Mishra head of the department of Chemistry emphasized the importance of MRI and MRS in medical diagnosis. MRS provides information about the biochemical composition of brain tissue, which can differentiate between tumor types based on their metabolic profiles. MRS can assist in determining tumor grade by detecting specific metabolites associated with higher tumor aggressiveness, such as increased levels of lactate and lipid peaks in high-grade gliomas.Dr. Amrita Srivastava proposed the vote of thanks. There were several special invitees including alumnus of the 1989 batch. The program was attended by all the faculty members and research scholars of the department.