Dr. Dydak is Director of the Purdue-IU Medical Physics Program and Associate Director
of the Women’s Global Health Institute at Purdue University. With a background in
medical physics, her NIH-supported research is focused on the development of novel
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) techniques and their
translation to clinical and life science studies. Dr. Dydak pioneered the use of
quantitative MRI (qMRI) and edited MRS techniques to determine the effect of
exposure to welding fumes on the dynamics of brain manganese deposition and on
alterations in neurochemicals, such as the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma amino
butyric acid (GABA).
She reported on increased brain Mn levels correlating with cognitive outcomes, on
novel MRI ways to assess excess manganese on a whole-brain basis, as well as on
significantly elevated in vivo levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid
(GABA). In some brain regions those changes were reversible, with the rate of change
being modulated by the amount of life-long exposure to Mn.
Current studies use novel quantitative MRI (qMRI) and advanced MRS editing
techniques to explore the dose-response relationships of uptake and elimination of Mn
and other heavy metals into specific brain regions of the human brain, the metal burden
of the individual brain for risk assessment, and the relationship of brain Mn to oxidative
stress markers, neurotransmitter imbalances and neurological outcomes.