Position: Co-Director of the University of Vermont MRI1 Center for Biomedical Imaging and Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology.
Formerly: Lecturer and Director of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Organisation: University of Canterbury, Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson's & Brain Research (now the New Zealand Brain Research Institute), until 2011.
Field: Medical physics and medical imaging.
Below covers Ricahrd's work at the Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson's & Brain Research (now the New Zealand Brain Research Institute).
Richard divides his time between being a lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Canterbury and being the Director of Magnetic Resonance Imaging2 (MRI) Research at the Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson’s & Brain Research in Christchurch.
It is a rapidly developing field and we go from research to real patients in a short span of time.
Richard’s research involves the use of medical resonance imaging (MRI) scanners to make images of the brain. By developing new techniques and technologies for analysing the huge amount of data3 collected from MRI scanners, Richard hopes to make even better pictures of brain structures and the brain in action. His work has broad applications and aims to help earlier diagnosis4 of people with brain injuries and diseases5 such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s disease6, slow the progress of such diseases, and use the new techniques to see if current and new treatments are effective.
Richard even sees a time in the not so distant future when these imaging techniques will play a part in the personalisation of treatment for each person, rather than treating everyone with the same disease7 in the same way, as doctors do at the moment. Along with scientists and doctors around the world, Richard believes this will be the next big thing in medical science, so watch this space!
Richard completed his undergraduate8 degree and PhD9 at the University of York in the United Kingdom. Initially he studied solid state physics10, which took him across the English Channel to Grenoble in France and later to Cornell University in New York, USA where he was first introduced to the use of MRI techniques to study humans. To begin with, he studied blood vessels and then went on study the brain, where he discovered the great potential the techniques offered for treating disease.
The use of cutting-edge technologies such as computers and superconductors appeals to Richard, and the applied nature of his work is a great source of motivation.
When he isn’t subjecting himself, research volunteers or patients to scans, Richard enjoys walking and running – he has even completed four New York Marathons! His other interests include photography, electronics11, computers and reading.
This article is based on information current in 2007 and updated in 2019.
- MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive diagnostic procedure in which the patient is encircled in a strong uniform magnetic field that interacts with radio waves to excite the nuclei of specific atoms (usually hydrogen). This is translated into a visual image on a computer screen showing detailed internal cross sections of the body.
- MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive diagnostic procedure in which the patient is encircled in a strong uniform magnetic field that interacts with radio waves to excite the nuclei of specific atoms (usually hydrogen). This is translated into a visual image on a computer screen showing detailed internal cross sections of the body.
- data: The unprocessed information we analyse to gain knowledge.
- diagnosis: The identification of disease through the examination of the symptoms.
- diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
- Parkinson’s disease: A degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech.
- diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
- undergraduate: A student who is studying for their first degree, the most common of which is called a bachelor’s degree.
- PhD: Abbreviation of Doctor of Philosophy – a degree normally obtained after a concentrated period of research. This is the highest level of degree that involves supervision by academic staff at a university.
- solid state physics: The study of rigid matter or solids.
- electronics: 1. The study of the behaviour and control of electrons. This field has expanded enormously with the discovery of semiconductors. 2. The generic term for hardware used to build electrical components.
