Personal profile

Biography

 Professional Qualifications and Professional Memberships

  • B.Sc. (Hons) Physical Sciences, University of Aberdeen (2008) 
  • M.Sc. Medical Physics, University of Aberdeen (2010)
  • Ph.D. Medical Imaging, University of Aberdeen (2014)
  • Member of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine

 

Research Interests

  • Development of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy methods, including diffusion, T1 mapping, Dixon, and arterial spin labelling MRI, and 1H and 31P MRS.
  • Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of cardiac and skeletal muscle.
  • Identification of imaging biomarkers for characterising sarcopaenia.


Career Summary

I am an Honorary Lecturer (Assistant Professor) and Physicist who specialises in the development and application of new methods for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). I received my Bachelor’s degree in Physical Sciences, Master’s in Medical Physics, and my Doctorate in Medical Imaging from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland—a university with a prodigious history in the development of MRI. I also spent a summer as an intern at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering at ETH Zurich, and my work there has led to many fruitful collaborations. After completing my Ph.D. I joined the Longitudinal Studies Section at the National Institute on Aging in the US; my remit was to develop new MRI and MRS methods for characterising sarcopaenia in older adults. I returned to the UK in 2016, joining the UEA as a Senior Research Associate. I was promoted to Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in 2017. I have since relocated to the Netherlands to join the C.J. Gorter MRI Center at Leiden University Medical Centre, where I am working on devloping new imaging biomarkers for muscular dystrophies in collaboration with Dr Hermien Kan.  
     My research has ranged from the purely technical to clinical applications, and includes computer-based MRI simulations, improvement of MRS techniques for assessment of breast cancer, quantitative brain imaging, and MRI characterisation of cardiac tissue in patients with heart failure, myocardial infarction, and acute stress-induced cardiomyopathy. My current work focuses on identifying new measures of muscle quality using magnetic resonance in the extremities. To this end, I have been developing new MRI and MRS methods to achieve excellent data quality and faster scan times.


Career History

  • Researcher, C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands (2019-Present)
  • Lecturer in Clinical Magnetic Resonance Physics, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom (2017-2022).

  • Senior Research Associate in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Physics, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom (2016-2017).

  • Special Volunteer, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States (2016/2018).
  • Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States (2014-2016).

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Education/Academic qualification

Doctor of Philosophy, Quantitative T1 Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Myocardium: Development and Clinical Applications, University of Aberdeen

Oct 2010Dec 2013

Award Date: 10 Jul 2014

Master in Science, Proton Spectroscopy at 3 Tesla In Breast Cancer, University of Aberdeen

Sep 2009Oct 2010

Award Date: 25 Nov 2010

Bachelor of Science, University of Aberdeen

Sep 2003Jun 2008

External positions

Researcher, Leiden University Medical Center

17 Jun 2019 → …

Special Volunteer, National Institutes of Health

Feb 2016Sep 2018

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or