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Open-source MRS Software


William Clarke

Wellcome Career Development Fellow

Advanced, open tools for MR Spectroscopy

My work focusses on developing new methods for magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Using similar methods to MR imaging (MRI), MRS allows us to quantify the concentrations and chemical kinetics of many neurochemicals in the human brain. Furthermore, by using neurochemicals as endogenous probes we can also map cell-type-specific microstructure. My work seeks to develop new ways of acquiring multi-voxel spectroscopic information to measure chemical dynamics and cellular microstructure across the brain. I have released the open-science MRS analysis tool FSL-MRS and created a range of open-source tools for the MRS community. I am a cofounder of the educational website MRSHub.

In 2023 I started a spectroscopy group at WIN funded by a Wellcome Career Development Award. Previously I have worked as spectroscopist in the Physiological Neuroimaging Group and as a post-doctoral researcher in the UK7T Network. Prior to working in neuroimaging, I completed my doctorate in cardiovascular magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This work focused on the high-energy phosphorus metabolism of the human myocardium.

I am open to consulting on acquisition and analysis of MR spectroscopy for clinical trials, and have previously done so for third-party CROs.

Front cover of the book "Introduction to Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Acquisition and Analysis"

Introduction to Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Acquisition and Analysis

I and my co-authors, Adam Berrington and Saad Jbabdi, have recently published a guide to running an MRS study, including acquisition, processing and analysis of the data. You can buy a physical or ebook copy now from OUP or Amazon.

Key publications

Recent publications