SPMIC PhD Students

Significant gaps remain in our basic knowledge of what happens to solid oral dosage forms (tablets) in the stomach, particularly when taken with food. MRI imaging has the potential to provide new information on spatial and temporal processes occurring in the stomach. This EPSRC iCASE collaboration between GSK, gastrointestinal imaging and pharmacy specialists at the University of Nottingham will address these key issues, with the potential to lead to better in-vitro and in-silico modelling tools for oral dosage forms development, and ultimately enhance our ability to tailor drug release in the fed state.

Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) is a new non-invasive method for the three-dimensional mapping of metabolic activity, it involves using spectroscopic 2H magnetic resonance imaging to map the distribution of 2H-bearing metabolites generated following the infusion/injection of deuterium-labelled compounds. DMI potentially provides an alternative to FDG-PET for cancer detection, with the benefits of not requiring the use radioactive tracers while providing information about metabolism that goes beyond glucose uptake. This project aims to implement DMI on the Nottingham 7T scanner for application to brain cancer which involves developing approaches that exploit the increased signal to noise ratio available at higher fields.

Daniel Cocking - LinkedIn
Daniel Cocking Orchid
Daniel Cocking Research Gate

Internal combustion engines produce many unwanted by-products which are detrimental to the environment and public health. Diesel particulate filters and gasoline particulate filters are a widely used technology for the removal of these pollutants. These are mostly porous ceramic wall-flow filters which have been coated with catalytic washcoats. My research aims to improve this technology by characterising the gas-phase hydrodynamics within the opaque and not easily accessible structure of these filters. Novel hyperpolarised noble gas (HP NG) magnetic resonance imaging and velocimetry techniques are utilized to probe gas flow patterns in the supportive channels, permeation through the walls, and to investigate the influence of channel surface roughness on the flow profile. All studied in the Knudsen diffusion regime. This will be used, in conjunction with other methodologies, to assess the accessibility and potential for bypassing the catalyst caused by washcoat distribution inhomogeneities at varying free pore volumes. My research also explores an innovative approach to HP NG purification, via catalytically triggered combustion, and recompression to enable new HP NG applications to porous media and biomedical research.

I am interested in the possibility of studying the brain’s microstructure non-invasively using diffusion MRI (dMRI), but validation studies are needed as dMRI lacks specificity.  A common approach involves comparing measures of microstructure derived from dMRI and microscopy. Unfortunately, microscopy is usually 2D and limited to thin sections of small tissue samples. Recently, novel tissue clearing techniques and 3D light sheet microscopy allow for detailed study of the whole, intact, rodent brain. I am capitalising on these developments for whole-brain microstructure imaging in rodents by building a 3D multi-modal and cross-resolution imaging framework using dMRI and 3D light-sheet microscopy.

Computational Neuroimaging Laboratory

I work on the development and optimisation of the hyperpolarisation of noble gases. Hyperpolarised (HP) noble gases are effective contrast agents for pulmonary MRI to investigate lung function and microstructure. Instead of detecting signal from organic tissue (typical of conventional MRI), one can image the gas within void space of the lung cavities and dissolved in the pulmonary tissue itself. These techniques give great insight into lung function, including ventilation and gas diffusion through the parenchyma, but also provide information about the alveolar microstructure. Following earlier work with helium-3, HP xenon-129 is approved for clinical MRI use in the UK. Additionally, krypton-83 is under active development in model systems and previous work demonstrated surface sensitive contrast via interactions of its nuclear quadrupole moment. My work centres on development of these methods, from improvements in production to application in a clinical setting. I’m part of a ‘first of its kind’ UK wide study, using HP xenon MRI to investigate long term damage to the lungs due to Covid-19.

The main focus of my research project is to: (a) investigate the neural antecedents of tics in Tourette syndrome, and (b) evaluate the use of median nerve electrical stimulation as a potential therapy. I will use a variety of neuroimaging techniques including OPM-MEG and fMRI to investigate the brain network activity associated with the occurrence of tics and the urge-to-tic. I will also investigate the entrainment and neuromodulatory effects of rhythmic median nerve stimulation on the sensorimotor cortex using MEG and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Mairi Houlgreave LinkedIn

My main research focus is on reducing the annotation burden associated with medical image segmentation through the use of minimally supervised machine learning techniques. There are several approaches used, including attentive initial image selection, clustering to improve performance on underrepresented classes of data, and semi-supervised learning to ensure full utilisation available unlabelled data. I work with several researchers at the MR Centre to streamline data analysis pipelines, and evaluate machine learning models on real world MR data.

I work developing new frameworks for Bayesian inference of microstructural models in diffusion MRI, used for brain connectivity mapping. Compared to previous conventional approaches that can be computationally expensive and time-consuming, we have been investigating more efficient approximate Bayesian approaches, as well as network-based simulation-based approaches. The latter allows model inversion even in challenging cases when a forward prediction is possible, but an analytically tractable likelihood is not available. These new approaches allow uncertainty quantification in modeling and the project utilizes them to assess new denoising approaches that the field has proposed for EPI MRI datasets.

I work on the development of high resolution 7T functional and structural MRI methods for detailed layer specific acquisition and analysis. I have developed a bespoke pipeline to analyse simultaneous EEG-fMRI data acquired at 7T with the aim to examine a fundamental neuroscience question regarding the origin of the EEG-alpha rhythm.  In addition, I am working on the application of a denoising method (NORDIC) to improve the data quality of GE-EPI, ASL and VASO acquisitions in order to measure layer specific signals.

Oxford-Nottingham Biomedical Imaging CDT

I am a 3rd year BBSRC DTP PhD student working with Dr Nic Blockley on 'Interpreting the Dynamics of the Cerebrovascular Response in Health and Disease' using pseudocontinuous Arterial Spin Labelling Magnetic Resonance Imaging (pCASL-MRI). This involves using hypercapnic challenges (breathing in high carbon dioxide (CO2) mixed with air) to signal the blood vessels in the brain to increase the blood flow. We aim to accurately measure this change in blood flow to provide new insights into vascular diseases of the brain and provide clinicians with information for diagnosis. 

Colette Milbourn Google Scholar

My PhD is focussed on understanding how physical activity affects the ageing process, and to isolate changes due to ageing from those due to an inactive lifestyle. To do this, non-active older and younger male volunteers, and older endurance cyclists, are undergoing MR scans at rest, during exercise using an Ergospect CardioStepper, and during a recovery. 

My PhD is in pulmonary MRI, specifically looking at non-contrast proton-based methods. My project focuses on the development of proton MRI lung imaging, which could allow for both structural and functional assessment of many different conditions, including cystic fibrosis, COPD and long COVID. In particular, the ability to generate regionally-localized functional information without extensive pulse sequence modification or additional hardware makes these proton-based methods promising candidates for clinical translation.

My PhD project investigates the role of neurophysiological inhibition and cortical somatomotor representations in individuals with Tourette’s syndrome (TS). Furthermore, this project will investigate how this neurophysiological inhibition and mapping may be related to the altered sensory processing experienced in TS. This project involves the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and multimodal imaging techniques, such as fMRI and GABA-edited MRS.

Caitlin Smith PhD profile
Caitlin Smith Research Gate 
Caitlin Smith LinkedIn 

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) affects 1 in 10 over 40s in the UK with 90% of suffers being overweight. It has been found that weight loss alongside changes to diet and lifestyle can lead to the reversal of T2D. With many obese patients going on the waiting list for bariatric surgery but only 1% of these receiving it, an alternate treatment is needed. Using MRI of the liver, pancreas, muscle and heart and MRS techniques including 1H cardiac and 31P liver measures, I will investigate the mechanisms in which bariatric surgery induces the reversal of T2D.  This will help understand whether changes occur through weight loss or hormonal changes following surgery.

Oral coated formulations have the potential to improve treatment outcomes of a range of diseases in distal intestinal tract whilst limiting systemic drug absorption and adverse effects. Their development is challenging, partly because of limited knowledge of the physiological and pathological distal gastrointestinal factors, including colonic chyme fluid distribution and motor function. Recently, non-invasive techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have started to provide novel important insights. In this PhD, a coated capsule is formulated that can withstand the upper gastrointestinal tract conditions. The capsule is filled with olive oil as MRI-visible marker fluid to test the ability of MRI to track such a coated capsule in the gastrointestinal tract and to assess whether it is possible to image its loss of integrity. 

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common life limiting autosomal recessive condition that affects over 10,000 people in the UK. Most people with CF will experience gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as pain, bloating and flatulence and up to two thirds will miss school or work due to their symptoms.  
Building on previous work, we are working to help reduce the burden of these symptoms by using MRI to understand the causes of GI symptoms and complications in people with CF. We also hope to create an optimised MRI protocol for use in future research into candidate therapeutics or clinical monitoring.