GE HealthCare to Establish MRI R&D Center in Ohio

Ohio continues to attract global leaders in healthcare innovation, with GE HealthCare selecting Cincinnati as the location for its newest MRI Research and Development (R&D) center of excellence. This new collaboration between GE HealthCare, the University of Cincinnati, UC Health, and Cincinnati Children’s underscores the strategic significance of the Ohio Discovery Corridor. 

A Strategic Collaboration to Drive MRI Innovation 

In June 2024, GE HealthCare announced the creation of a co-located MRI R&D center of excellence on the University of Cincinnati’s medical campus. This collaboration aims to develop next-generation MRI hardware and software tailored to meet the clinical needs of both adult and pediatric patients. The R&D center is designed to foster close interaction between GE HealthCare scientists and clinical investigators from UC Health and Cincinnati Children’s, creating an ideal environment for accelerating MRI innovation. 

“We are excited to launch a collaboration with our partners at UC, UC Health, and Cincinnati Children’s to bring technical knowledge from our GE HealthCare MR Applied Science Lab team together in the field with clinical expertise from these renowned health institutions,” said Anja Brau, Ph.D., General Manager of MR Clinical Solutions and Research Collaborations at GE HealthCare. “We find this model of ‘real world’ collaboration effective to leverage collective strengths of industry and academia and accelerate the translation from prototype to clinical reality.” 

Why Ohio? 

GE HealthCare’s choice of Cincinnati was not by chance. The city’s rich ecosystem of healthcare institutions and research talent made it the perfect location for this new venture. “We think that in Cincinnati, there’s a fantastic STEM talent pool and a lot of universities and training facilities that produce great talent that we can work with,” Brau explained. “There’s a strong track record in research and the ability to test new concepts and deploy them.” This alignment of talent, research infrastructure, and shared vision was key to GE HealthCare’s decision to bring its R&D center to Ohio. 

The partnership is also supported by JobsOhio, which provided an R&D grant to assist with engineering and manufacturing job growth at GE HealthCare’s Aurora, Ohio, facility and new scientific roles at the Cincinnati R&D center. “GE HealthCare’s decision to choose Ohio for its next research center launches a research partnership that would validate the bold vision of establishing the Cincinnati Innovation District in 2020,” said J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO of JobsOhio. 

Driving Innovation and Opportunity in Ohio 

The new GE HealthCare R&D center is not just an investment in technology—it’s an investment in Ohio’s economy and its people. 

“This distinction of hosting a GE HealthCare Research center in our midst elevates the Cincinnati region, bolstering our already-leading edge innovation and research in healthcare and life sciences,” said Kimm Lauterbach, President and CEO of REDI Cincinnati. “GE HealthCare and UC Health establishing a research center amplifies the expansive ecosystem being created by the Cincinnati Innovation District and our strategic collaboration with JobsOhio, Cincinnati Children’s, and the University of Cincinnati medical campus.” 

With GE HealthCare’s latest venture, Ohio once again proves its leadership in life sciences and healthcare innovation, ensuring that the state remains at the forefront of medical breakthroughs that benefit patients across the globe. This collaboration reinforces Ohio’s commitment to creating an ecosystem where healthcare innovation thrives, positioning the Ohio Discovery Corridor as a center for breakthroughs that will shape the future of medicine.