Bio
Juan Miguel Parra Robles received a BSc in Physics (Universidad de Oriente, Cuba, 1995), a MSc in Electrical Engineering in Cuba (ISPJAM, Cuba, 1998) and a PhD in Medical Physics from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada, 2004). He then joined Robarts Research Institute (London, Canada) as a postdoctoral fellow (2004-2007). In 2007, he received a Marie Curie Fellowship to work at the University of Sheffield, UK, where he later continued working as a Senior Research Fellow until January 2015. In January 2015, he joined the Department of Bioengieering and Aerospace Engineering at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid as a CONEX Professor. He has over 150 scientific publications including peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings. Since 2011, he has served in the Executive Committee of the Hyperpolarized Media Study Group of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Research
Research expertise focuses on the development of novel Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging technology and its applications in biomedicine, with particular interest in the use of hyperpolarized gases. Areas of current research:
- Hyperpolarization of noble gases using the Spin-Exchange Optical Pumping (SEOP) method
- MRI imaging of lungs using hyperpolarized noble gases
- Novel hardware and acquisition/recontruction techniques for accelerated MRI and hybrid PET-MRI
- Theoretical models of non-Gaussian diffusion
- Finite Element Modeling of gas diffusion in lungs
- Quantification of lung microsctructure using diffusion MRI
Selected Publications
Parra-Robles J and Wild JM. On the new evidence from 3He MR of neo-alveolarization during childhood and adolescence. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 189 (4) 501-502, 2014
Wild JM, Marshall H, Norquay G, Xu X, Clemence M, Griffiths PD, Parra-Robles J. Simultaneous imaging of lung structure and function with triple nuclear hybrid MRI. Radiology. 267(1): 251-5, 2013
Ajraoui S, Parra-Robles J, Wild JM. Incorporation of prior knowledge in compressed sensing for faster acquisition of hyperpolarized gas images. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 69(2): 360-369, 2013
Parra-Robles J and Wild JM. The influence of lung airways branching structure and diffusion time on measurements and models of short-range 3He gas MR diffusion. Journal of Magnetic Resonance 225 102–113. 2012
Marshall H, Deppe MH, Parra-Robles J et al. Direct visualisation of collateral ventilation in COPD with hyperpolarised gas MRI. Thorax 67(7): 613-7, 2012.
Parra-Robles J, Ajraoui S, et al. Experimental investigation and numerical simulation of 3He gas diffusion in simple geometries: implications for analytical models of 3He MR lung morphometry. Journal of Magnetic Resonance 204(2): 228-38, 2010.
Parra-Robles J, Dominguez Viqueira W, Xu X, et al. Theoretical prediction and experimental measurement of the field dependence of the apparent transverse relaxation of hyperpolarized noble gases in lungs. Journal of Magnetic Resonance 192(1): 85-91, 2008.
Links
CONEX Fellowship: www.uc3m.es/conex
International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine: www.ismrm.org
Languages