Qiu Yueqi (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

In a remarkable achievement for both herself and her university, Qiu Yueqi, a PhD student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Biomedical Engineering, has emerged as the sole global recipient of this year's Young Investigator Award at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) held in Hawaii, United States.

At the meeting, Qiu received the Prince-Meaney Translational Science Award, an honor that is part of the ISMRM Young Investigator Award and stands as the pinnacle of recognition in translational research within basic magnetic resonance science bestowed by ISMRM. Notably, this win represents the first time that China has secured the Prince-Meaney Award, shining a spotlight on SJTU's prowess in the realm of biomedical innovation. Qiu's success serves as a testament to the nation's burgeoning capabilities in addressing critical challenges in medical imaging and device technology.

The groundbreaking work that earned Qiu international acclaim was featured in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and involves an imaging technique tailored for portable MRI systems lacking parallel acceleration capabilities. By significantly mitigating geometric distortion in comparison to conventional echo planar imaging (EPI) methods, her innovation paves the way for a new era of cost-effective and accessible MRI solutions.

A member of ISMRM since 2023, Qiu has actively engaged in global academic exchanges, leveraging the guidance of her mentor, Professor Zhang Zhiyong, to publish multiple first-author papers and contribute to the development of China's inaugural portable low-field MRI prototype.

Currently, Qiu and her team are collaborating with SJTU's Children's Medical Center to deploy cutting-edge technology in studies focused on pediatric brain development. Their overarching objective is to amalgamate artificial intelligence and precision medicine with portable imaging tools, thereby enhancing early diagnosis and treatment methodologies.

Wu Jinwen contributed to this story.