Mary Kate Manhard, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Radiology

mary.manhard@cchmc.org

About

Biography

My research interests include developing new acquisition and reconstruction techniques for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Specifically, I focus on quantitative imaging and accelerated imaging, with applications in musculoskeletal (MSK) and brain MRI.

Obtaining an MRI is a slow process. It can be difficult for patients to lie still, especially young children. It can also be an uncomfortable and anxiety-producing experience for some patients. I look at ways to accelerate MRI acquisitions and efficiently encode data to collect multiple image contrasts very quickly. MRI contrast is relative, and I work on using quantitative imaging so that images are robust and repeatable. With these techniques, I’m interested in translatable research resulting in robust methods that can be applied in the clinic, directly improving the care and outcomes for patients.

I am a member of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2018-2020). I have been a researcher for nearly ten years, and I began my work at Cincinnati Children’s in 2020.

Services and Specialties

Radiology and Medical Imaging

Interests

Neuroimaging; MSK imaging; quantitative MRI; accelerated imaging

Research Areas

Radiology

Publications

Comparison of hepatic PDFF, T2*, and T2 estimates from breath-hold and free-breathing respiratory-gated MRI acquisitions in children and young adults. Kilpattu Ramaniharan, A; Kemp, J; Kocaoglu, M; Trout, A; Dillman, J; Manhard, MK; Pednekar, A. Abdominal Radiology. 2025.

Feasibility of Sodium and Amide Proton Transfer-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods in Mild Steatotic Liver Disease. Lindquist, DM; Manhard, MK; Levoy, J; Dillman, JR. Tomography. 2025; 11(8).

Simultaneous Multiparameter Mapping of the Liver in a Single Breath-Hold or Respiratory-Triggered Acquisition Using Multi-Inversion Spin and Gradient Echo MRI. Manhard, MK; Kilpattu Ramaniharan, A; Tkach, JA; Trout, AT; Dillman, JR; Pednekar, AS. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2025; 61(4):1925-1936.

Influence of fat on hepatic T2 relaxation time estimation: a preliminary investigation. Kemp, JM; Manhard, MK; Tkach, JA; Prasanphanich, AF; Trout, AT; Dillman, JR; Pednekar, A. Abdominal Radiology. 2025; 50(4):1606-1614.

A single 1-min brain MRI scan for generating multiple synthetic image contrasts in awake children from quantitative relaxometry maps. Ramaniharan, AK; Pednekar, A; Parikh, NA; Nagaraj, UD; Manhard, MK. Pediatric Radiology. 2025; 55(2):312-323.

Longitudinal investigation of neurobiological changes across pregnancy. Niu, Y; Conrad, BN; Camacho, MC; Ravi, S; Piersiak, HA; Bailes, LG; Barnett, W; Manhard, MK; Cole, DA; Clayton, EW; Osmundson, SS; Smith, SA; Kujawa, A; Humphreys, KL. Communications Biology. 2025; 8(1):82.

Practical approach to quantitative liver and pancreas MRI in children. Kemp, JM; Ghosh, A; Dillman, JR; Krishnasarma, R; Manhard, MK; Tipirneni-Sajja, A; Shrestha, U; Trout, AT; Morin, CE. Pediatric Radiology. 2025; 55(1):36-57.

Quantifying brain development in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study: The magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy protocol. Dean, DC; Tisdall, MD; Wisnowski, JL; Feczko, E; Gagoski, B; Alexander, AL; Edden, RAE; Gao, W; Hendrickson, TJ; Howell, BR; Zöllner, HJ; Fair, DA; Smyser, CD; Elison, JT. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 2024; 70:101452.

Impact of Emerging Deep Learning-Based MR Image Reconstruction Algorithms on Abdominal MRI Radiomic Features. Li, H; Alves, VV; Pednekar, A; Manhard, MK; Greer, J; Trout, AT; He, L; Dillman, JR. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography. 2024; 48(6):955-962.

Time-efficient, high-resolution 3T whole-brain relaxometry using 3D-QALAS with wave-CAIPI readouts. Cho, J; Gagoski, B; Kim, TH; Wang, F; Manhard, MK; Dean, D; Kecskemeti, S; Caprihan, A; Lo, W-C; Splitthoff, DN; Cauley, S; Setsompop, K; Grant, PE; Bilgic, B. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 2024; 91(2):630-639.