CIBM Annual Symposium 2025
The CIBM Annual Symposium 2025 will take place on December 1st, 2025 at the Auditoire Alex‐F. Müller, CMU, University of Geneva. The annual event aims to gather members of the biomedical imaging community in Switzerland and beyond allowing them to exchange during an exciting and intellectually stimulating day filled with insightful talks and poster presentations.
Visits to the new CIBM infrastructure at HUG (CIMA.X 3T MRI and Nanoscan PET/CT) will be organised at the end of the day. As places are limited, registration is required.
PROGRAMME
Registration opens at 8h30
9:00 Welcome Breakfast: Posters and Demos
10:00 Opening & CIBM Achievements 2020-2025
Pina Marziliano
CIBM Executive Director
MORNING SESSIONS – Chaired by Valentina Garibotto, CIBM PCI HUG-UNIGE Molecular Imaging Section
10:30 Tracer development for nuclear theranostics : Where we are and where we go
Margret Schottelius
CHUV, UNIL
ABSTRACT
The development of radiotheranostic tracers lies at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and clinical translation. This presentation outlines the conceptual and methodological framework that guides the design of molecules capable of both imaging and treating cancer. Central to this process is the systematic modulation of molecular scaffolds—antibodies, peptides, and small molecules—to achieve optimal target affinity, pharmacokinetics, and dosimetry. Parallel diagnostic and therapeutic variants are generated through controlled changes in radiolabels or chelators, enabling prediction and validation of biological behavior across modalities. Experimental feedback from preclinical imaging, biodistribution, and therapy studies iteratively informs refinement of tracer structure and choice of radionuclide. Beyond molecular optimization, integrated theranostic development increasingly embraces multidimensional strategies—combining radioligand therapy with immune modulation, radiosensitization, or adaptive treatment design based on quantitative imaging data. These approaches represent a shift from empirical discovery toward mechanism-driven engineering of radiopharmaceuticals. The goal is to establish a reproducible translational pipeline where diagnostic tracers not only visualize disease but function as predictive and adaptive tools for personalized therapy.
BIO
Margret Schottelius is Associate Professor of Translational Radiopharmaceutical Sciences at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Trained as a chemist at ETH Zürich and TU Munich, she has over two decades of experience in translational tracer development and molecular imaging. Her research focuses on the rational design and clinical translation of peptide- and small molecule–based theranostic agents for oncology and immuno-oncology, aiming to bridge (radio)chemistry, biology, and medicine to advance precision radiotheranostics.
11:00 Of Rodents and Humans: Novel diffusion MRI approaches to map microstructure and brain activity
Ileana Jelescu
CHUV, UNIL
ABSTRACT
Can diffusion MRI combined with biophysical modeling serve as an in vivo non-invasive microscope? In this talk we will go through the latest developments in brain and body diffusion models, from animal studies to human translation, and applications to a variety of disorders. Lastly, we will present opportunities of using the apparent diffusion coefficient as a functional MRI contrast independent of neurovascular coupling to map neural activity in the white matter.
BIO
Ileana Jelescu is an Assistant Professor in the Radiology Department of the CHUV, where she leads the Microstructure Mapping Lab. She is a physicist with expertise in diffusion MRI and biophysical modeling, navigating between human and small-animal systems, on a variety of field strengths. She holds an Eccellenza Professorial Fellowship to develop in vivo microstructure quantification, as well as an ERC Starting Grant to develop novel functional MRI contrasts exploiting microstructure fluctuations during neuronal activity. Her training includes master’s degrees from Ecole Polytechnique (France) and McGill University (Canada), a PhD from Université Paris-Saclay (France), a postdoc at New York University (USA) and a staff scientist position at CIBM, EPFL.
11:30 State-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging of the musculoskeletal system: From technique development to clinical translation
Dimitrios Karampinos
CIBM MRI EPFL MR Imaging Technology Section
ABSTRACT
Imaging plays a central role in the management of patients with musculoskeletal trauma and musculoskeletal diseases. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is considered the medical imaging modality of choice to image the soft tissues of joints in modern orthopedics and to image lesions in musculoskeletal oncology. Recent technical advances have enabled accelerated imaging protocols, quantitative paradigms, and novel contrast mechanisms to even image tissues traditionally challenging for MRI (i.e. bone). The present talk will provide an overview of state-of-the-art MRI instrumentation, data acquisition and image reconstruction techniques for imaging skeletal muscle, peripheral nerves and bone across magnetic field strengths and will discuss their translation in patient studies. The overarching goal of the technical development is to establish an efficient, high-resolution, multi-tissue, quantitative MRI protocol for improving outcomes in the diagnosis and therapy assessment of a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders.
BIO
Dimitrios Karampinos, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering of the School of Engineering (STI) and in the Institute of Physics of the School of Basic Sciences (SB) at EPFL. He is the Head of the newly established Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems and Methods (MRISM) at EPFL and the Head of the CIBM MRI EPFL Section. He is a recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (2016) and an ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant (2020). He received the Junior Fellowship from the the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) in 2011. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and of Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine.
12:00 Lunch Break: Posters and Demos
AFTERNOON SESSIONS – Chaired by Jonas Richiardi, CIBM DS CHUV-HUG Imaging for Precision Medicine Section
14:00 Learning from structure: Graph AI in medical imaging
Dorina Thanou
EPFL AI Center
ABSTRACT
AI is opening new frontiers in medical imaging, offering unprecedented opportunities to understand complex biological systems and improve patient care. Yet, the richness and variability of medical data — from anatomy to physiology — demand new learning paradigms that are firmly grounded in medical knowledge. In this talk, we will discuss how advances in graph-based learning are reshaping our ability to model the intricate organization of living systems. Through showcases in cardiology and oncology, we will illustrate how these approaches enable the development of AI-assisted tools, that support diagnosis and prediction.
BIO
Dorina Thanou is a senior researcher and lecturer at EPFL, where she leads strategic initiatives on AI for Health within the EPFL AI Center. Her research aims to advance personalized and preventive medicine by developing interpretable and robust machine learning models which intergrate biological and clinical domain knowlege. She has led numerous interdisciplinary collaborations to foster the adoption of AI in medicine, and has been recognized with multiple distinction, including Best Paper Awards at ICASSP and PCS, and election as an ELLIS Scholar. She is an IEEE Senior member.
14:30 The future of brain-computer interfaces: Scaling EEG out of the lab
Tomas Ros
CIBM EEG HUG-UNIGE Clinical and Translational Neuroimaging Section
ABSTRACT
Moving EEG “into the wild” is the next frontier, but real-world noise makes data unreliable. I will introduce GEDAI, a new algorithm for unsupervised denoising of highly contaminated EEG, outperforming current-state-of-the art methods. Its convergence with recent innovations in dry EEG electrodes unlocks the potential for remote neurofeedback and real-time BCIs. This paves the way for a new generation of non-invasive consumer neurotechnology and scalable clinical applications, including at-home monitoring and treatment of patients with brain disorders.
BIO
Dr. Tomas Ros is a Lecturer at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Geneva, specializing in the methodological development of EEG neurofeedback for psychiatric and neurological disorders. He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths University of London, an MSc in Neuroscience from Louis Pasteur University, and a BSc in Physics from Imperial College of Science and Technology.
15:00 From 7T to 17 grams: Advancing high-precision imaging and long-term wearable monitoring to fill in the puzzle of human health
João Jorge
CSEM
ABSTRACT
The intricate complexity of human brain function, and dysfunction, has raised a clear need for multimodal sensing approaches that can capture its rich spatial and temporal dynamics – fitting pieces in the “neuroimaging puzzle”. In this talk, I will discuss personal insights from our research on multimodal brain monitoring: from highly-resolved imaging with 7T MRI, and its combination with high-density EEG, to long-term monitoring at home using lightweight wearable sensors. Within the scope of brain health, I will also discuss novel approaches we are exploring to probe hemodynamic and waste clearance processes in the brain, whose relevance is becoming increasingly clear in various eurodegenerative diseases.
BIO
João Jorge is a proud CIBM Alumnus! Throughout his PhD and postdoctoral research, he had the pleasure to work with outstanding researchers from the CIBM family at EPFL, CHUV and HUG, advancing methods for brain imaging. Supported by an Ambizione fellowship of the SNSF, he has since led new developments in high-resolution imaging of challenging structures such as the thalamus, and helped set a new state of the art for combined 7T functional MRI and high-density EEG. At present, he is an R&D expert at the Medtech BU of CSEM – the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, where he drives research on new tools for biomedical sensing, and particularly brain health, inside and outside the lab.
15:30 From brain to spine and back: A signal processing ride
Dimitri Van De Ville
CIBM SP EPFL-UNIGE Connectomic Imaging Section
ABSTRACT
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides unprecedented opportunities to non-invasively measure human brain structure (anatomy) and function (physiology). To fully exploit the rich spatiotemporal structure of these data and gain insights into brain function in health and disorder, novel signal processing and modeling approaches are needed, informed by domain knowledge from neuroscience and instrumentation. This journey will bring us from the brain to the spinal cord, revealing several organizing principles between these two key structures of the central nervous system. Finally, recent acquisition protocols that allow simultaneous coverage of the brain and spinal cord enable a comprehensive view of their interplay.
BIO
Dimitri Van De Ville is a Full Professor at EPFL, Neuro-X Institute, with a joint affiliation with the University of Geneva, Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics. He is the Director of the Medical Image Processing Laboratory, and the Head of the CIBM EPFL-UNIGE Signal Processing Section. He was a recipient of the Pfizer Research Award 2012, the NARSAD Independent Investigator Award 2014, the Leenaards Foundation Award 2016, and IEEE EMBS Technical Achievement Award 2024. He was elevated to Fellow of the IEEE in 2020 and the EURASIP in 2023. He serves as a Senior Member of the Editorial Board for the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine since 2021, as a Handling Editor for the new journal Imaging Neuroscience since 2023, and as an Editor for the SIAM Journal on Imaging Science since 2018.
15:55 Closing remarks
16:00 – Posters and Demos.
– Visits to CIBM infrastructure: CIMA.X 3T MRI and Nanoscan PET/CT at HUG.
17:00 Apéro & Networking