Experience

MRI Clinical Scientist (2023 – present)

UBC MRI Research Centre and Simon Fraser University’s ImageTech Lab

Projects:

      • MRS technical development including semi-LASER with and without water suppression
      • Technical development for sodium (23Na) MRI and phosphorus (31P) spectroscopy
      • MRS in clinical trials and clinical research for MS, Alzheimer’s Disease, stroke, first episode mania, etc
      • Characterization of metabolite and perfusion profiles in healthy control grey matter
      • MRI in radiation therapy planning and treatment evaluation

Philips MR Clinical Scientist (2016 – 2023)

UBC MRI Research Centre and Simon Fraser University’s ImageTech Lab

Philips Healthcare Canada

Projects:

      • MRS technical development including semi-LASER and without water suppression
      • Applications of MRS in  multiple sclerosis (MS), depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s Disease, etc
      • Measuring dynamic changes in glutamate with MRS in response to experimental pain during acquisition
      • Acceleration of myelin water imaging acquisition techniques
      • Creation of myelin water imaging normative atlases

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (2013 – 2017)

Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Traboulsee

Department: Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia

Projects:

      • MRS evidence to support mechanisms of action of new therapeutics in people living with relapsing MS
      • Demonstration of glutamate and glutamine as biomarkers of progressive MS
      • Development of fast water suppression for MRS detection of short peptide chains in MS
      • endMS Scholar Program for Researchers in Training

Post-Doctoral Fellow (2012)

Supervisor: Dr. Klaas Pruessmann

Department: Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich

Projects:

      • Characterization of unwanted signal distortions in MRS

PhD: Biomedical Science (2008-2012)

Supervisor: Dr. Roland Kreis

Department: Division of MR Spectroscopy and Methodology, The University of Bern

Co-supervised by: Dr. Anke Henning at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich

Projects:

      • Implementation of non-water-suppressed MRS for detection of downfield protons in the human brain at 3T and 7T
      • Motion correction of spinal cord and liver spectroscopy with non-water-suppressed MRS
      • MRS of skeletal muscle

MSc: Medical Physics (2006-2008)

Supervisor: Dr. Alex MacKay

Department: Physics & Astronomy, The University of British Columbia

Projects:

      • Myelin water MRI in the spinal cord
      • Phase contrast velocity MRI in the spinal cord
      • MRI of cervical spondylotic myelopathy

BSc: Honour Biophysics (2001-2006)

Supervisor: Dr. Alex MacKay

Department: Physics & Astronomy, The University of British Columbia

Project: Towards absolute quantification of MRS in vivo

Co-op Placement (2005)

Supervisor: Dr. Graham Wright

Department: Medical Biophysics, The University of Toronto

Project: MRI of atherosclerotic veins

Co-op Placement (2004)

Supervisor: Dr. Alex MacKay

Department: Physics & Astronomy, The University of British Columbia

Project: MRS data acquisition and analysis