Meet The Researcher

Mmm...I memorised 100 digits of Pi, in both English and Chinese.

The passion and enthusiasm of the neurologists, radiologists and clinical scientists whom I work with is what inspired me to get involved in MS research. Their professionalism and commitment to patient care has deeply impacted me. In the MS clinics, I saw emerging needs for individuals with a quantitative analytic skillset to develop advanced engineering solutions in the clinical neurosciences, which also urged my sense of responsibility for contributing to the better management of MS.

There has been countless exciting developments in MS research. To me, MRI and its related quantitative imaging analysis techniques are definitely among the most amazing ones.

MS disease progression involves many changes in the brain. However, often these changes do not result in obvious symptoms – they are ‘silent’. Therefore, it is difficult to observe whether a treatment is effective. This project aims to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based analysis that will help monitor ‘silent’ disease progression in MS patients. This analysis technique could potentially be used to monitor how a patient responds to treatment, which would be useful in testing new therapies and ultimately in clinical practice to help doctors make informed treatment decisions for their patients.

Brain structural changes in MS – both destructive and reparative – can be asymptomatic, and are sometimes undetectable on conventional MRI scans. My research project aims to improve the specificity of advanced MRI imaging techniques in order to untangle distinct MS pathological processes, and to facilitate the monitoring of ‘silent’ disease progression by quantifying brain changes at the cellular level. The proposed fully-automated and robust imaging analysis platform would have the ability to provide objective evidence for therapeutic strategies that aim to repair the brain and maximise long-term disability prevention. Furthermore, this technique is designed for real-world delivery from the very beginning – being applicable to basic scientific research, clinical trials and clinical practice. Cloud-based implementation, with access via a web interface, will translate and deliver this advanced neuroimaging research to the MS clinic.

I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with people from many different backgrounds on almost a daily basis, including neurologists, radiologists, pathologists, clinical scientists, imaging physicists, computer scientists and engineers. The unique expertise of these individuals often exposes many different perspectives on the same problem, which frequently results in innovative thoughts and wild ideas. The challenge is coming to an agreement and moving toward a solution, which requires effective communication between all involved.