The central aim of our research program is to push the limits of biomedical MR. New techniques are developed and validated by studies on biological preparations in vitro and animal models in vivo, and where possible applied in clinical human research. The technology developments in our group are inspired by important biomedical and healthcare problems: (a) skeletal muscle disorders, especially type 2 diabetes and decubitus; (b) cardiovascular disorders, including atherosclerosis and cardiac infarction; (c) molecular imaging of disease biomarkers and the development of target-specific contrast agents. These themes were chosen because: (a) diseases of skeletal muscle and the cardiovascular system have a major socio-economic impact; (b) MR has the potential to greatly improve the diagnosis and management of these disorders; (c) novel MRI protocols combined with targeted contrast agents can strongly enhance the specificity and sensitivity of diagnostic MRI.