Rick Dijkhuizen

Rick Dijkhuizen received his Ph.D. at Utrecht University in 1998 (thesis title: 'Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy in Experimental Cerebral Ischemia'). From 1999 until 2002 he worked at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital/Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Harvard Medical School (Charlestown/Boston, MA, USA), first as Postdoctoral Fellow and later as Instructor. There his research focused on elucidating spontaneous and therapy-induced recovery after cerebrovascular injury (e.g. stroke) with different MRI techniques in patients and experimental models. In 2002 he became head of the Biomedical MR Imaging and Spectroscopy group, which merged with the Neurovascular MRI group in 2023 to form the Translational Neuroimaging group, part of the Center for Image Sciences, at the University Medical Center Utrecht. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine from 2013 until 2014.

His current research interests include multiparametric imaging of brain structure and function in health and disease, with a particular focus on i) development of tools for improved diagnosis of brain pathophysiology, ii) characterization of neural network (re)organization, and iii) monitoring of neuroprotective and -restorative therapies. He has recently initiated a translational research project that aims to establish safe and effective modulation of neural networks to enhance functional recovery after stroke through non-invasive brain stimulation in stroke animal models and patients.

He has teamed up with different colleagues of the UMCU Brain Center for preclinical imaging studies on brain disorders, and he collaborates with various national and international institutions on topics such as brain plasticity and molecular imaging. Rick Dijkhuizen has been workpackage leader in several EU-funded research programs. He served/serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, and the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Translational Stroke Research, and Stroke. He is Associate Editor of Frontiers in Neurology|Stroke and the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism.

Research line

Experimental and Translational Neuroimaging

Most recent key publications

1: Van der Knaap N, Franx BAA, Majoie CBLM, van der Lugt A, Dijkhuizen RM; CONTRAST consortium. Implications of Post-recanalization Perfusion Deficit After Acute Ischemic Stroke: a Scoping Review of Clinical and Preclinical Imaging Studies. Transl Stroke Res. 2024;15:179-194.
2: Vink JJT, van Lieshout ECC, Otte WM, van Eijk RPA, Kouwenhoven M, Neggers SFW, van der Worp HB, Visser-Meily JMA, Dijkhuizen RM. Continuous Theta-Burst Stimulation of the Contralesional Primary Motor Cortex for Promotion of Upper Limb Recovery After Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Stroke. 2023;54:1962-1971.
3: Meerwaldt AE, Straathof M, Oosterveld W, van Heijningen CL, van Leent MM, Toner YC, Munitz J, Teunissen AJ, Daemen CC, van der Toorn A, van Vliet G, van Tilborg GA, De Feyter HM, de Graaf RA, Hol EM, Mulder WJ, Dijkhuizen RM. In vivo imaging of cerebral glucose metabolism informs on subacute to chronic post-stroke tissue status - A pilot study combining PET and deuterium metabolic imaging. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2023;43:778-790.
4: Van Lieshout ECC, Boonzaier J, Pel AJ, van Heijningen CL, Vink JJ, Visser-Meily JMA, van Tilborg GAF, Dijkhuizen RM. Translational Value of Skilled Reaching Assessment in Clinical and Preclinical Studies on Motor Recovery After Stroke. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2021;35:457-467.