My research in a nutshell
The Edinburgh Imaging QMRI Facility (Clinical Research Imaging Centre) has a range of state-of-the-art clinical imaging research devices. Our facility house a dedicated research 3T wide-bore MRI system, 2 PET-CT scanners (one dedicated to clinical research, the other to nhs clinical scanning), a PET-MRI dedicated research scanner, two retinal imaging labs, and a dedicated image analysis research core. In addition, we house an on-site cyclotron and radiochemistry production facility with a range of research and GMP hot-cells to manufacture novel and clinical-grade radiopharmaceuticals for our PET imaging devices. We work across this range of modalities in a wide variety of clinical applications, such as cardiovascular disease, advanced neuro imaging in populations ranging from the fetus through to the ageing brain. Our mission statement is to develop non-invasive functional imaging biomarkers of normal and pathological processes in the clinical setting. My particular focus is non-invasive clinical imaging of cardiovascular disease, specifically in the development and application of novel imaging agents, such as targeted MRI contrast agents, and novel PET radiotracers. We work closely with our colleagues in the Edinburgh Imaging pre-clinical facilities to translate novel imaging technique from early development in preclinical models through to clinical translation. My group is actively developing new methods of non-invasively imaging inflammation and fibrosis in a range of clinical applications.