By Katie Chung
Sometimes an academic journey changes course through a single opportunity. For Vanderbilt Master of Imaging Science student Grace Choi, that moment came during her sophomore year as a biomedical engineering student at the University of Texas at Austin. During an MRI research internship, Choi developed an interest in imaging that would alter the trajectory of her career.
After graduating in 2024, Choi began working as an MRI research assistant at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) where she worked with Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, the measurement of the concentration of metabolites in the brain. With her growing field knowledge and fundamental engineering and coding background, Choi became interested in bridging her two passions and delving deeper into the field of imaging.
“I realized that I would benefit from learning more about imaging concepts,” said Choi. “My PI, Dr. Changho Choi, referred me to Dr. Todd Peterson and Dr. Daniel Gochberg, and I talked with them during a seminar at VUIIS (Vanderbilt Institute of Imaging Science). They were really welcoming and told me that this [MIS] program is for people of various backgrounds, even for people who don’t have any knowledge in imaging. So, I thought this was a great opportunity.”
Growing Through Differing Perspectives
Now starting her second semester in the MIS program, Choi says that one of the highlights is the different people she’s met—from students to faculty. The combination of the small cohort size (including full-time and part-time students) and their unique backgrounds often means that each student has a different responsibility in projects, contributing in various ways. While Choi often helps out on the engineering and coding side of projects, other classmates who are experts in chemistry or neuroscience will use their skillset to contribute.
“We [MIS students] all have different backgrounds and it brought us close together,” she said. “When we’re learning molecular imaging, students who studied in neuroscience could help me understand physiological mechanisms, while I could contribute from an engineering and mathematical perspective.”
Choi also says the MIS faculty members reinforce the importance of collaboration between those with different backgrounds and that these experiences have instilled methods of interdisciplinary collaboration
“Although all our faculty members are from the Imaging Institute, they have different backgrounds in research,” she said. “Some are in molecular imaging, some are in MRI, some are in ultrasound. That’s kind of shaped my perspective, that people from different backgrounds can come together and build projects.”
One project MIS students have the opportunity to collaborate on is their capstone research project. Under the supervision of an MIS faculty member, the capstone project allows students to complete research that highlights their strengths and areas of interest in the field of imaging. For Choi, this means working with Dr. Wellington Pham, who studies molecular imaging utilizing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans.
“After taking Dr. Pham’s course, I got really interested in molecular imaging because I love biology,” she said. “It was really interesting to me that molecular imaging can be used to monitor and track disease responses and treatment responses. He’s been working on this project for a couple years, and we’re thinking about how I can contribute to that project using my engineering background and coding experience.”
Following Post-Grad Ambitions
For Choi, her future goals are to go into industry and contribute to research and development, an endeavor she says is deeply supported by the MIS program at Vanderbilt.
“This program is a mix of fundamental imaging concepts and real-world imaging applications in both research and industry,” she said. “We constantly hear from guest speakers in industry, and they’re all from different positions or backgrounds. It gives us an idea of how we can apply our skills into industry and what this program can provide us.”
For others who want to go into research, the opportunity to connect and collaborate with faculty members on a wide range of imaging projects is present throughout the curriculum.
“In this program, there are courses where we get to learn MRI, we get to learn ultrasound, we get to learn molecular imaging. It’s not just on one imaging modality,” she said. “We get to learn a variety of imaging modalities and applications, and the courses are really interactive. So that’s awesome.”
Priority applications to join next year’s part-time and full-time Master of Imaging Science cohorts are open now until February 15, 2026.