The group leader Katharina Wenger-Alakmeh is a Senior Attending Physician and Associate Professor (Habilitation) at the Institute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Frankfurt. She combines prior clinical experience in Neurology and Neurooncology with a strong translational research focus aimed at bringing advanced imaging technologies into clinical practice. She has received multiple competitive clinician-scientist fellowships and scientific awards, including two fellowships of the German Cancer Aid (MSNZ) and the Kurt Decker Award of the German Society of Neuroradiology 2024. Her international experience comprises clinical training at leading hospitals worldwide during her MD training and a research fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA. Throughout her career, she has led and collaborated in multidisciplinary teams bridging imaging technology, oncology, and clinical decision-making.
Institute of Neuroradiology
The Translational Neuroimaging group at the Cooperative Brain Imaging Center provides a collaborative research environment dedicated to the clinical translation of advanced MRI techniques.
The group is embedded in a strong interdisciplinary and interinstitutional, national and international network that connects Neuroradiology, Neurology, physics, chemistry, and data science, enabling the translation of advanced MRI techniques into meaningful clinical applications. A close, long-standing partnership with the University Cancer Center Frankfurt (UCT) forms the clinical backbone of the group and has led to multiple successful investigator-initiated studies with the Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Neurooncology, integrating innovative MR-based biomarkers directly into therapeutic trials, including dietary interventions such as ERGO2/3 and B-FREE.
The group’s mission is to develop and validate non-invasive, MR-based biomarkers that improve tumor characterization, allow early assessment of treatment response or failure, and support rational patient stratification for innovative therapies. A particular emphasis lies on Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), Sodium MRI, and multi-parametric quantitative MRI (mp-qMRI). These complementary techniques enable in vivo assessment of tumor metabolism, pH regulation, and tissue microstructure. The resulting quantitative biomarkers provide biologically interpretable measures with high reproducibility, making them well suited for longitudinal monitoring, multicenter studies, and integration with AI-based analysis pipelines.
By combining methodological expertise with strong clinical integration and collaborative networks, the Translational Neuroimaging group advances imaging-based precision medicine and strengthens the role of advanced MRI techniques in oncological care and other neurological disorders.
MR-based quantitative and metabolic brain imaging:
- In and ex vivo (X-nuclei) Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H, 31P, 23Na, 19F)
- In and ex vivo quantitative MRI and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
- In vivo Sodium MRI
Group members
Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Katharina
Wenger-Alakmeh, MHBA
Group leader Translational Neuroimaging
Institute of Neuroradiology
+49 (0)69 6301 80407 or – 95630
wenger-alakmehmed.uni-frankfurt.de
Seyma Alcicek, MD-PhD
Medical Scientist Translational Neuroimaging
Institute of Neuroradiology
+49 (0)69 6301 95631
alcicekmed.uni-frankfurt.de
Seyma Alcicek received her MD degree from Yildirim Beyazit University in Ankara, Turkey, and her PhD from Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. She joined the group in 2022, supported by a competitive Medical Scientist Fellowship of the German Cancer Aid (MSNZ). Her postdoctoral research focuses on the non-invasive characterization of tumor metabolism using in vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, with the goal of improving clinical feasibility and translational impact. In 2024, she completed a research fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, USA. In recognition of her scientific contributions, she was awarded the 2025 ISMRM Young Investigator Award. In addition, she is a recipient of the Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Foundation Women’s Fellowship.
Dr. rer. medic. Dennis C. Thomas, MSc
Medical Scientist Translational Neuroimaging
Institute of Neuroradiology
+49 (0)69 6301 95633
ChittisseryThomasmed.uni-frankfurt.de
Dennis C. Thomas is an MR imaging scientist with expertise in quantitative MRI and advanced neuroimaging biomarkers. He began his research career as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early-Stage Researcher at Forschungszentrum Jülich, where he focused on developing novel quantitative MRI techniques. He joined the group in 2022 as a PhD student and Medical Scientist. In 2025, he was awarded his PhD (Dr. rer. medic.) from Goethe University Frankfurt for his work on fast multiparametric quantitative MRI (mp-qMRI) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy-based metabolite quantification in brain tumors. His research interests include mp-qMRI, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, and sodium imaging in brain tumors and other brain pathologies. He serves as Technical Lead of the multicenter RACOON AI Brain Tumor project, part of the Network University Medicine (NUM), developing protocols and coordinating technical implementation and harmonization across participating sites.
Andrei Manzhurtsev, PhD
MR Physicist Translational Neuroimaging
Institute of Neuroradiology
+49 (0)69 6301 95635
Manzhurtsevmed.uni-frankfurt.de
Andrei V. Manzhurtsev received his specialist degree in Medical Physics and an M.Sc. in Physics from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, and his PhD in Physics and Mathematics (Biophysics) from Moscow State University. He gained extensive early research experience in clinical and translational neuroimaging at the Clinical and Research Institute of Emergency Pediatric Surgery and Trauma in Moscow, focusing on MRS, diffusion, and functional MRI. He joined the group in 2023 as a Medical Scientist and MRI Physicist. His expertise includes advanced MRS techniques, pulse sequence programming, and sequence optimizations on Philips and Siemens platforms.
Dr. rer. nat. Ulrich Pilatus
Senior MR Physicist Translational Neuroimaging
Institute of Neuroradiology
+49 (0)69 6301 95635
u.pilatusem.uni-frankfurt.de
The group is advised by Ulrich Pilatus, an MR Physicist specializing in metabolic imaging of oncological and neurological diseases. He brings over 25 years of experience in the field, including prior international appointments at Johns Hopkins University, USA, and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.