Current Research Projects
I am looking for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to join my lab. My ideal candidate is someone with experience programming (python, linux/bash, git, matlab, R), a multidisciplinary interest and background, curious, driven, humble, and good communication/interpersonal skills.
I am also looking for exciting new collaborations with other clinicians and investigators.

As for projects:

Fractal Analysis of fMRI Signals
Fractal Analysis of fMRI Signals:
Investigating a how to analyze functional MRI time-series using fractal mathematics. This sort of analysis has shown some promise as a biomarker in concussions, Alzheimers, autism and more. I would like to test the program on known signals, such as random noise and signal with known Hurst coefficient values. If all goes well, analysis of resting state fMRI scans can be performed to measure within-subject variability of the fractal dimension (multiple scans of the same person on the same day). Further, if this is successful, we can test this method on some already acquired data in children with obsessive compulsive disorder and healthy controls, and then plan more long-term studies.

Cerebrovascular Health of Spinal Cord Injury
Cerebrovascular Health of Spinal Cord Injury:
It is a well known fact that spinal cord injuries can lead to further health problems in the years following the injury, one of which is general cardiovascular health. What is not known, however, is how this may affect brain health. If the cerebral vascular health of a subject is altered, this may have long term consequences for the subject, including cognitive problems and depression. By using a state-of-the-art machine that allows us to manipulate the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide that someone breathes, while they are being scanned, we can acquire information about how well the brain’s veins are responding to these gas volumes. By comparing these values to healthy controls, we hope to better understand what sort of differences may exist for subjects with spinal cord injuries, which may help clinicians and investigators to create better treatment methods.

Cerebral Metabolic Rate of Oxygen (CMRO2) Mapping by Combining Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and Quantitative Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent Imaging (qBOLD)
Cerebral Metabolic Rate of Oxygen (CMRO2) Mapping by Combining Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and Quantitative Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent Imaging (qBOLD):
A long term study to see whether a relatively new MRI method, known as susceptibility imaging, can tell us about the amount of oxygen that is being metabolized in the brain. By doing so, we are interested to see if preterm and term infants with brain injuries are not metabolizing oxygen as well as they should be, and whether we can use MRIs to diagnose, classify, and monitor this damage.

Using Advanced MRI Techniques FLAIR2 and QSM to Identify and Classify Focal Cortical Dysplasia (FCD)
Using Advanced MRI Techniques FLAIR2 and QSM to Identify and Classify Focal Cortical Dysplasia (FCD):
FCD is a common cause of medically difficult to detect and treat form of epilepsy in children and adults. By optimizing these techniques, I hope to greatly improve image contrast and resolution, and ultimately improve FCD detection and classification, which will ultimately result in improved diagnosis and treatment.

Others
I also have experience and interest in the following subjects: concussion / TBI; obsessive compulsive disorder; brain intoxication; brain networks; resting state networks; diffusion tensor imaging; myelin water imaging; machine learning and deep learning; white matter effects of vaping;