Bernadette Ochoa

Research Interests

Bernadette Ochoa is a dedicated Lead MRI Technologist with over a decade of experience spanning inpatient, outpatient, and research environments. A registered technologist since 2014, Bernadette began her career after earning her Associate degree in Magnetic Resonance Imaging from Southwest University at El Paso. Following eight years of clinical experience, she returned to Southwest University to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Radiology Management, further specializing her expertise in healthcare leadership.

Throughout her career, Bernadette developed extensive experience performing advanced and specialized MRI examinations and procedures, including cardiac MRI, , whole-body MRI, breast MRI, prostate MRI, MR spectroscopy, and working closely with Radiologists to perform MRI-guided biopsies, MR-guided prostate ablation, and MR stress testing.

Her transition into research MRI brought together her clinical experience, technical knowledge, and interest in advancing MRI applications. As a Lead MRI Technologist in the Neuroimaging Core at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, she is responsible for MRI operations and data collection for studies utilizing functional MRI. She coordinates and acquires fMRI data on a Siemens Prisma Fit and works directly with research teams to develop and implement customized CMRR SMS sequences, and maintains BOLD stimulus presentation equipment , eye-tracking systems, task computers, and behavioral-data archiving. She collaborates with investigators to tailor MRI protocols to individual research questions while maintaining a strong emphasis on MRI safety and high-quality data acquisition.

Bernadette also develops and provides MRI safety education for personnel working in the MRI environment, trains postdoctoral researchers interested in operating the scanner for their own studies and serves as a primary resource for MRI safety clearance and participant screening.