I am a BrightSpark WA Early-Career Child Health Researcher Fellow at UWA, working in a multidisciplinary team of engineers, physiologists, and doctors to develop and apply a laser-based medical imaging technology for the clinical setting. My goal is to improve the diagnosis and knowledge of Tracheomalacia, a rare condition of weak or abnormally shaped airway cartilage. To do this I design, build and apply a new imaging technology called 'Polarisation-Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography (PS-OCT)', which can visualise and measure the cartilage of the windpipe that plays an essential role in Tracheomalacia. I am also passionate about Asthma, particularly the airway smooth muscle that actively drives airway contraction, for example during an asthma attack. For the first time, the PS-OCT imaging technology has allowed us to create maps of the lungs that show abnormal airway smooth muscle. This breakthrough ability may lead to a completely new way of treating asthma, and may lead to a cure for some people.

Research Fellow (Paediatric & Medical Imaging | Optics & Photonics | Respiratory Diseases)