Dr. Piotr Kozlowski appointed Director, UBC MRI Research Centre

Pictured: Dr. Kozlowski with the Philips Elition 3T-MRI housed in the Charles E. Fipke Integrated Neuroimaging Suite.

Dr. Piotr Kozlowski has been appointed to the role of Director, UBC MRI Research Centre after Dr. Alex MacKay stepped down at the end of 2019. Dr. Kozlowski had been Associate Director since the Centre was established 2005.

Dr. Kozlowski came to Canada after completing his PhD in MRI Physics at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Krakow, Poland, in 1989 to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa, Ontario; following his time in Ottawa, he spent nine years at the NRC in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He joined department of radiology in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC in 2001, first working at the Vancouver Prostate Centre and then collaborating with ICORD researchers.

For much of his time with UBC, Dr. Kozlowski has directed the 7T-MRI facility housed in the Life Sciences Centre, managing preclinical model imaging and molecular imaging for researchers in various disciplines across UBC’s Vancouver campus.

The UBC MRI Research Centre employs a small but effective team of highly skilled technical and administrative staff and works with a core team of faculty in Medicine, Applied Science, and Computer Science to support research in Multiple Sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and more.

“Most of my first months has been about asking people what they are working on, and getting to know the teams,” said Dr. Kozlowski. “I saw the number of emails and meeting invitations triple on December 1, when I officially stepped into the role! But still, I am enjoying the work and interacting with our incredible staff and researchers.”

Under the leadership of Dr. Mackay, the Centre grew to be a financially and scientifically successful facility supporting hundreds of research studies and clinical trials.

“I’m looking forward to working more closely with Dr. Kozlowski, and am encouraged by how enthusiastic he has been about meeting everyone and learning about the breadth of imaging research taking place within the UBC neuroscience community,” said Dr. Shannon Kolind.

“I value Dr. Mackay’s contributions to building the Centre, and am proud to continue building on his accomplishments to date,” said Dr. Kozlowski. “I will continue to value his advice, and look forward to working with our team and to collaborating with our partners in the Charles E. Fipke Integrated Neuroimaging Suite, including our PET-MRI and electrophysiology colleagues.”