Melanie Morrison, PhD

Assistant Professor

Morrison Lab Website: http://morrisonlab.ucsf.edu

Melanie Morrison, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in residence in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at UCSF, and a core member of the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint PhD Program in Bioengineering. She received her BSc in Integrated Sciences at Carleton University in Ontario, Canada, before completing her PhD at the University of Toronto. In 2016 she joined UCSF's Radiology Department as a postdoc, working under Dr. Janine Lupo primarily on brain tumor projects until summer 2022.

Since 2019, Dr. Morrison's independent research has been focused on the clinical translation and integration of advanced MRI techniques to improve neurosurgical interventions and neuromodulation therapies for neurologic and neuropsychiatric conditions. Her research group leverages multimodal 3T and 7T MRI data to: (1) develop and test new strategies for precise brain targeting in neuromodulation, (2) derive predictive imaging markers of treatment efficacy for patients' motor, cognitive and behavioral symptoms, and (3) evaluate brain function in real-time during brain neuromodulation to further our understanding of underlying therapeutic mechanisms. Both image processing and statistical modeling techniques are implemented at the core of this translational research, with a strong emphasis on method transparency, reproducibility, and accessibility. Currently, these exciting projects are supported by three UCSF seed grants, an NIMH R21 grant, and an NINDS R01 grant.

As a first-generation academic, Dr. Morrison is very passionate about mentorship, outreach, and providing equal opportunities in academia for underrepresented minority trainees and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Publications

Therapeutic DBS for OCD Suppresses the Default Mode Network.

Tractography-based DBS lead repositioning improves outcome in refractory OCD and depression.

Altered Iron and Microstructure in Huntington's Disease Subcortical Nuclei: Insight From 7T MRI.

Intracranial beta activity is a biomarker of circadian and stimulation-induced arousal in obsessive compulsive disorder.

Advances in Deep Brain Stimulation: From Mechanisms to Applications.

Functional imaging of deep brain stimulation in dystonia: a review

Human upper extremity motor cortex activity shows distinct oscillatory signatures for stereotyped arm and leg movements.

Editorial for "Relationship Between Microstructural Alterations and Cognitive Decline After Whole-Brain Radiation Therapy for Brain Metastases: An Exploratory Whole-Brain MR Analysis Based on Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging".

Cerebellar Deep Brain Stimulation in Cerebral Palsy: Promising early results and a look forward to a larger clinical trial.

Cerebellar deep brain stimulation for the treatment of movement disorders in cerebral palsy.

DeepSWI: Using Deep Learning to Enhance Susceptibility Contrast on T2*-Weighted MRI.

Comparison of Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping Methods for Iron-Sensitive Susceptibility Imaging at 7T: An Evaluation in Healthy Subjects and Patients with Huntington's Disease.