Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow
Associate Director, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN)
Co-Director, WIN Physics Group
Associate Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Medical Sciences Division
WIN Diversity & Inclusion Champion
Pronouns: she/her
Karla Miller
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
I develop novel methods for acquiring, reconstructing and analyzing MRI scans of the brain. Much of my research focuses on techniques for studying brain function and connectivity. My current work characterises tissue microstructure with MRI in conjunction with complementary technologies like microscopy. I helped to establish the UK Biobank brain imaging protocol, and am undertaking studies with this data as an external user.
My group is helping to advance the state of the art in MRI through improvements in signal sensitivity and specificity. We are developing methods to measure aspects of tissue microstructure that are central to neuronal health and disease. We are improving our understanding of MRI data in living subjects through scans of post-mortem brains in combination with light microscopy in the same tissue. Many in our group are developing the next generation of diffusion and functional MRI acquisition techniques for studying brain connectivity, by taking advantage of ultra-high field scanners and sophisticated signal processing. Finally, we are developing biophysically principled methods for data "harmonisation" to enable the translation of large-scale studies like UK Biobank into smaller-scale neuroimaging studies and clinical settings.
These methods will enable neuroscientists to study the brain with greater precision. My group is actively involved in collaborations with neuroscience colleagues in Oxford and elsewhere to study neuronal health and disease.
Finally, I am passionate about diversity & inclusion in academia, and the need to improve research culture. I hold a number of related leadership roles, including leading EDI for the WIN Centre, the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, and the Medical Sciences Division.
DPhil Projects
I have regular DPhil opportunities for candidates with a background in physics, engineering or neuroscience. Projects will usually be designed collaboratively with the candidate. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss possible projects, including an up-to-date CV.
Key publications
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Why every lab needs a handbook.
Journal article
Tendler BC. et al, (2023), Elife, 12
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An open resource combining multi-contrast MRI and microscopy in the macaque brain
Journal article
Howard AFD. et al, (2023), Nature Communications, 14
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Phenotypic and genetic associations of quantitative magnetic susceptibility in UK Biobank brain imaging
Journal article
Wang C. et al, (2022), Nature Neuroscience, 25, 818 - 831
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The Digital Brain Bank, an open access platform for post-mortem imaging datasets
Journal article
Tendler BC. et al, (2022), eLife, 11
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Joint modelling of diffusion MRI and microscopy
Journal article
Howard A. et al, (2019), NeuroImage
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Diffusion Acceleration with Gaussian process Estimated Reconstruction (DAGER)
Journal article
Wu W. et al, (2019), Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 82, 107 - 125
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The spatial correspondence and genetic influence of interhemispheric connectivity with white matter microstructure
Journal article
Mollink J. et al, (2019), Nature Neuroscience, 22, 809 - 819
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Recovering task fMRI signals from highly under-sampled data with low-rank and temporal subspace constraints
Journal article
Chiew M. et al, (2018), NeuroImage, 174, 97 - 110
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The effect of realistic geometries on the susceptibility-weighted MR signal in white matter
Journal article
Xu T. et al, (2018), Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 79, 489 - 500
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Evaluating fibre orientation dispersion in white matter: Comparison of diffusion MRI, histology and polarized light imaging
Journal article
Mollink J. et al, (2017), NeuroImage, 157, 561 - 574
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Multimodal population brain imaging in the UK Biobank prospective epidemiological study
Journal article
Miller KL. et al, (2016), Nature Neuroscience, 19, 1523 - 1536
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A positive-negative mode of population covariation links brain connectivity, demographics and behavior
Journal article
Smith SM. et al, (2015), Nature Neuroscience, 18, 1565 - 1567