Douglas Noll

Douglas C. Noll, Ph.D., is the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Radiology in the College of Engineering and Medical School at the University of Michigan. He currently serves as Interim Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Director of the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility, and Co-Director of the Functional MRI Laboratory. Noll received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University in 1985, M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1986, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1991. Early in his career, he worked as a Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Labs from 1985 to 1987. He then joined the University of Pittsburgh as Assistant Professor of Radiology in 1991, advancing to Associate Professor by 1997, while also holding appointments in Electrical Engineering and as Acting Administrative Director of the MR Research Center. In 1998, Noll moved to the University of Michigan as Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, becoming full Professor in 2005, Chair of the department from 2007 to 2013, and Interim Chair from 2006 to 2007.

Noll's research focuses on developing magnetic resonance imaging technologies for mapping brain function, particularly functional MRI (fMRI), including rapid image acquisition, reconstruction, signal processing, and hardware methods for high-speed, robust whole-brain measurements. His group studies neurovascular physiology, quantifies biophysical connections to MR images, and collaborates with neuroscientists on normal and diseased brain imaging, as well as applications like MRI-guided focused ultrasound therapy such as histotripsy. Noll has earned numerous honors, including the Isador I. Rabi Award from the Society of Magnetic Resonance in 1994, Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2001, Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine in 2008, Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society in 2012, and multiple Outstanding Teacher Awards from the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Key publications include "Functional topographic mapping of human visual cortex using conventional MRI" in Nature (1993), "Improved assessment of significant activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): Use of a cluster-size threshold" (1995), and several works on prefrontal cortex activation and working memory tasks in the late 1990s. His contributions have advanced fMRI methodologies and their use in neuroscience research.

Professional Email: dnoll@umich.edu