Professor Neil Roberts

  • Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH)
  • Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR)

Contact details

Background

After graduating in Physics from the University of Liverpool, Neil was awarded a Personal Fellowship from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and subsequently moved to the USA where he was Research Associate at University of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB). Returning to the UK, Neil was appointed Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre (MARIARC), which was built to house the UK’s first commercial Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system, to set up an Image Analysis Laboratory, and where he was subsequently appointed Director. In 2009 Neil was appointed Chair of Medical Physics and Imaging Science at the University of Edinburgh and is based in the Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH) in the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR).

Neil’s chosen research is quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (qMRI) and he has published over 200 relevant peer-reviewed scientific articles concerning application of different MRI techniques (e.g. structural MRI, DTI, fMRI, MRS) in clinical research and especially in clinical and cognitive neuroscience. Most prominent is the technique of Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) for non-invasive measurement of tissue mechanical properties, and in collaboration with Dr. Richard Ehman at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, USA this is being applied in studies of the uterus with Professor Hilary O.D. Critchley at the University of Edinburgh, of brain with Professor Meiyun Wang, Henan Academy of Science, ZhengZhou, China and Professor Yoshiyuki Watanabe, Shiga University of Medical Science (SUMS), Japan and of muscle with Dr. Uraiwan Chatchawan, Khon Kaen University (KKU), Thailand.

Postgraduate teaching

The Clinical Research Imaging Centre (CRIC), where Neil was originally based at the University of Edinburgh, and where he supervised many PhD students who pursued their studies adjacent to the 3 T MRI system, was restructured and is now the Edinburgh Imaging facility at the Queen’s Medical Research Institute (QMRI). In recent years therefore Neil has focussed his MRE research on the abovementioned collaboration with Mayo Clinic and has initiated collaborations involving the application of state of the art MRE protocols in Japan (brain) and Thailand (muscle) including co-supervision of PhD students.

The above widening participation is advantageous for our work pioneering the application of MRE to study the uterus in patients with adenomyosis at the University of Edinburgh. For example, Neil recently co-supervised Engineer Ms. Emi Hojo in her study for the degree of Master of Science by Research (MScR) and Emi was subsequently appointed within the MRE research group at Mayo Clinic, working on Slip Interface Imaging (SII) which is of special interest for studies of the uterus and pelvis.

Neil is open to PhD supervision enquiries for new studies to be based in the Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH).

Research summary

The focus of Neil’s research is new applications of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique known as Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE). MRE was invented at the Mayo Clinic, USA by Dr. Richard Ehman with whom Neil has enjoyed a longstanding collaboration and allows tissue stiffness and viscosity to be calculated by measuring the wavelength of acoustic waves which are introduced in the organ or compartment of interest using a purpose-built actuator. This necessity for a comfortable and effective human-machine interface poses interesting challenges for optimising the application of the MRE technique in each new study. Furthermore, the conversion of the wave information to so-called elastograms (i.e. maps of tissue stiffness) using mathematical techniques known as inversion poses interesting challenges for ensuring robust quantification.

In the Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH), Neil is collaborating with Dr. Varsha Jain and Professor Hilary O.D. Critchley to investigate the potential role of MRE for diagnosing adenomyosis which is a debilitating uterine disorder that is associated with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) and painful periods.

Neil is committed to promoting international collaboration and exchange and recently as Visiting Professor at Shiga University of Medical Science (SUMS), Japan, supported by the collaboration with Mayo Clinic, Neil has begun a new study with Professor Yoshiyuki Watanabe, Chair of the Department of Radiology in which MRE is being applied to support diagnosis and pre-surgical planning for treatment of axial tumours of the brain. 

A second important commitment is the application of MRI to support studies relevant to health and well-being and in the case of MRE two studies of muscle are of note. Firstly, in collaboration with Dr. Wiraphong Sucharit and Dr. Uraiwan Chatchawan of the Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences (AMS), Khon Kaen University, Thailand, we are applying MRE in a Randomised Control Trail (RCT) to compare the effects of Thai Traditional Massage (TTM) and Physical Therapy for treatment of Office Syndrome. Secondly, in collaboration with Ayako Harada and Dr. Sachiko Noyori at Rohto Pharmaceutical Company, Osaka, Japan, we are developing MRE protocols for measuring the effect of health care and beauty products for promoting and maintaining good condition of the facial tissues.

Project activity

Critchley, H.O.D., Daniels, J., Williams, A., Saunders, P., Roberts, N., Semple, S., Bhatiacharya, S., Hapangam, D., Lumsden, M.A., Thrippleton, M., Clark, J., Middleton, L., Smith, P. and Nicholls, E. (2015 to 2024). National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR), £2.1M. ‘Ulipristal acetate versus conventional management of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB): a randomised controlled trial and exploration of mechanism of action’.

Roberts, N (2022 to 2024) Rohto Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., Osaka, Japan, £25,000. ‘Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) of the facial muscles’.

Solomon, T., Parkes, L.M., Roberts, N., Easton, E., Hickey, H., Burnside, G., Williamson, P., Keen, RN., Keller, S. and Griffiths, M. (2015 to 2025). Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme, National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR), £1.16M. ‘MECHEA - Mechanism and efficacy of corticosteroids in herpes simplex virus encephalitis in adults’.

Roberts, N. (2015 to 2023). T.J. Crow Psychosis Trust, £500k. ‘MR image analysis studies of brain asymmetry’.

Keller, S.S. and Roberts, N. (2021 to 2023). Epilepsy Research UK (ERUK), £30k. ‘Assessment of the mechanical properties of epileptogenic lesions using Magnetic Resonance Elastography: a new diagnostic approach for people with epilepsy’.