Susan Francis

Professor of Physics

Email: susan.francis@nottingham.ac.uk

My research interest is to develop advanced quantitative MRI techniques for studies of physiology, clinical imaging and neuroscience applications.

This includes the development of imaging methods, such as ASL-based perfusion, oxygenation and relaxometry, which a particular emphasis on:

• Using MR measures to study dynamic physiological and metabolic responses, including the response to exercise and applying this to IBD, COPD and frailty, and interventions such as fluid therapy, meal challenges and dialysis treatments.
• Studying the multi-organ pathophysiology of renal and liver disease, and interventions.

I also work at ultra-high (7 T) on developing and applying high resolution functional MRI techniques and arterial spin labelling (ASL) methods to measure blood flow and blood volume non-invasively to study basic neuroscience, with particular interests in:

• Study the somatosensory and motor function in healthy subjects and patients
• Using quantitative measures to study layer-specific fMRI by combining VASO and arterial cerebral volume (aCBV) and perfusion measures with high resolution BOLD fMRI and structural measures.