Joseph Woods

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Physics Group at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), University of Oxford, working with Professor Thomas Okell.

The current focus of my research is the technical and methodological development of Arterial Spin Labelling (ASL) MRI at Ultra-High Field, specifically 7T.

Previously, I worked at the Center for Functional MRI at the University of California San Diego with Professors Divya Bolar and Eric Wong developing velocity-selective ASL based techniques. Before that, I completed my DPhil at the WIN under the supervision of Professors Michael Chappell and Thomas Okell.

ASL MRI is a non-invasive technique that can be used for both quantitative perfusion imaging and angiography. Since ASL does not use ionising radiation or an injected contrast agent, it can be safely used for longitudinal monitoring of patients and for research scans. However, the signal we are measuring is SNR (signal-to-noise-ratio) limited, so there is an urgent need to develop methods to boost this signal to fully exploit this promising technique.