My lab uses advanced imaging methods to understanding the brain and various brain diseases or disorders.

My primary projects are currently in:

    -  Hydrocephalus (with Dr. Rick Abbott, Neurosurgery)

    -  Multiple sclerosis, gait and the brain  (with Dr. Roee Holtzer, Psychology)

    -  Leukemia  (with Dr. Elyse Sussman, Neuroscience)

    -  Sleep apnea  (with Dr. Raanan Arens, Pediatrics)

    - Prostate cancer  (with Dr. Elyse Sussman, Neuroscience)

    - Animal model of intraventricular hemmorhage  (with Dr. Praveen Ballabh, Neuroscience)

In hydrocephalus, we use a technique called MR Elastography to virtually "feel" the brain, and have shown changes in brain stiffness in chronic hydrocephalus children and young adults, and the relationship between brain stiffness changes and patient outcome.

In multiple sclerosis, we use advanced statistical modelig methods to merge structural and functional MRI data with gait data (taken outside the scanner) to understand the brain substrates of gait impairment in older adults in general, and in older adults with MS.

In leukemia, we are interested in the cognitive impairments which occur in > 50% of children following chemotherapy treatments (also common in other cancers). We are using EEG and functional MRI methods to study the brain pathways altered in these children to understand the changes in these pathways, and how these changes might be improved with treatments such as exercise and cognitive rehabilitation for mitigating the effects on these kids.

In sleep apnea, we use real-time MRI to visualize airway collapse, while pediatric patients sleep inside the MRI! The goals of this work is to use real-time imaging of airway motion to develop advanced biomechanical models of the airway which can guide better treatments for obstructive sleep apnea.

In prostate cancer, we are using methods similar to our leukemia work, except in this case we are focused on functional imaging of the hippocampus and the effects of androgen deprivation treatment (i.e. testosterone suppression) on memory in patients.

In IVH, we use MRI measures of blood brain barrier function and leakage to understand the changes in the BBB brought on by IVH, and the relationship of these changes to behavioral outcome measures - in an animal model of IVH, using out high-field, 9.4 Tesla MRI scanner.

In summary, I am interested in developing and implementing advanced imaging, image processing and data analysis for better understanding what happens to the brain, and how these changes drive clinically-relevant outcome. 

Finally, I am interested in MRI pulse sequence development, i.e. manipulating the MRI machine to extract new types of information from MRI images.


Focus areas:

• Quantitative flow imaging
• Hydrocephalus
• Animal models of disease
• Dynamic MRI and sleep apnea
• Multiple sclerosis
• Diffusion tensor imaging
• Volumetric analysis
• MRI Pulse sequence development

1. Lee MH, Sin S, Lee S, Park H, Wagshul ME, Zimmerman ME, Arens R. “Altered cortical structure network in children with obstructive sleep apnea” Sleep. 2022 May 12;45(5):zsac030 (2022)
2. Xie L, Udupa JK, Tong Y, Torigian DA, Huang Z, Kogan RM, Wootton D, Choy KR, Sin S, Wagshul ME, Arens R. “Automatic upper airway segmentation in static and dynamic MRI via anatomy-guided convolutional neural networks” Med Phys. 2022 Jan;49(1):324-342. (2022)
3. Holtzer R, Ross D, O'Brien C, Izzetoglu M, Wagshul ME. “Cognitive Reserve Moderates the Efficiency of Prefrontal Cortex Activation Patterns of Gait in Older Adults” J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021 Oct 4 (2021)
4. Ross D, Wagshul ME, Izzetoglu M, Holtzer R. “Prefrontal cortex activation during dual-task walking in older adults is moderated by thickness of several cortical regions” Geroscience. Aug;43(4):1959-1974 (2021)
5. Choy KR, Sin S, Tong Y, Udupa JK, Luchtenburg DM, Wagshul ME, Arens R, Wootton DM. “Upper airway effective compliance during wakefulness and sleep in obese adolescents studied via two-dimensional dynamic MRI and semiautomated image segmentation” J Appl Physiol (1985). Aug 1;131(2):532-543 (2021)
6. Wagshul ME, McAllister JP, Limbrick DD Jr, Yang S, Mowrey W, Goodrich JT, Meiri A, Morales DM, Kobets A, Abbott R. “MR Elastography demonstrates reduced white matter shear stiffness in early-onset hydrocephalus” Neuroimage Clin. 30:102579 (2021).
7. Bitners AC, Sin S, Agrawal S, Lee S, Udupa JK, Tong Y, Wootton DM, Choy KR, Wagshul ME, Arens R. “Effect of sleep on upper airway dynamics in obese adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome” Sleep. 2020 Oct 13;43(10):zsaa071 (2020)
8. Wagshul ME, Lucas M, Ye K, Izzetoglu M, Holtzer R. “Multi-modal neuroimaging of dual-task walking: Structural MRI and fNIRS analysis reveals prefrontal grey matter volume moderation of brain activation in older adults” Neuroimage. 2019 Apr 1;189:745-754. (2019)
9. Lucas M., Wagshul M.E., Izzetoglu M., Holtzer R. “Moderating Effect of White Matter Integrity on Brain Activation During Dual-Task Walking in Older Adults.”, J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. Jun 18 (2019).
10. K. Tan, A. Meiri, W. Mowrey, R. Abbott, J.T. Goodrich, A.L. Sandler, A.K. Suri, M.L. Lipton, M.E. Wagshul, “Diffusion tensor imaging and ventricular volume quantification in chronically shunted hydrocephalus patients: a matched case-control study”, J Neurosurg. 129(6):1611-1622 (2018).
11. J. Cha, J.A. Zea-Hernandez, S. Sin, K. Graw-Panzer, K. Shifteh, C.R. Isasi, M.E. Wagshul, E.E. Moran, J. Posner, M.E. Zimmerman, R. Arens.  "The Effects of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome on the Dentate Gyrus and Learning and Memory in Children." J Neurosci. 37(16):4280-4288 (2017).
12. D.M. Wootton, S. Sin, H. Luo, A. Yazdani, J.M. McDonough, M.E. Wagshul, C.R. Isasi, R. Arens, "Computational Fluid Dynamics Upper Airway Effective Compliance, Critical Closing Pressure, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severity in Obese Adolescent Girls", J Appl Physiol, 121(4):925-931 (2016).
13. Y. Tong, J.K.Udupa, D. Odhner, C. Wu, S. Sin, M.E. Wagshul, R. Arens, "Minimally Interactive Segmentation of 4D Dynamic Upper Airway MR Images via Fuzzy Connectedness", Medical Physics 43:2323 (2016).
14. Y. Tong, J.K. Udupa, D. Odhner, S. Sin, M.E. Wagshul, R. Arens, "A novel non-registration based segmentation approach of 4D dynamic upper airway MR images: minimally interactive fuzzy connectedness" Proc. SPIE 9038, Medical Imaging 2014: Biomedical Applications in Molecular, Structural, and Functional Imaging, 90380Z (March 13, 2014); doi:10.1117/12.2044473.
15. M.E. Wagshul, S. Sin, K. Shifteh, M.L. Lipton, R. Arens, "Novel Retrospective, Respiratory-Gating Method Enables 3D, High Resolution, Dynamic Imaging of the Upper Airway during Tidal Breathing", Mag Reson Med (2013).
16. H.J Yu, C. Christodoulou, V. Bhise, D. Greenblatt, Y. Patel, D. Serafin, M. Maletic-Savatic, L.B. Krupp, M.E. Wagshul, "Multiple white matter tract abnormalities underlie cognitive impairment in RRMS", Neuroimage, 59:3713-3722 (2012). PMID: 22062194.
17. S. Rashid, J.P. McAllister, Y. Yu, M.E. Wagshul, “Neocortical capillary flow pulsatility is not elevated in experimental communicating hydrocephalus”, J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 32:318-329 (2012).
18. M.E. Wagshul, P.K. Eide, J.R. Madsen, “The Pulsating Brain: A review of experimental and clinical studies of intracranial pulsatility”, Fluid and Barriers of the CNS, 8:5 (2011).
19. M.E. Wagshul, J.P. McAllister, S. Rashid, J. Li, M.R. Egnor, M.L. Walker, M. Yu, S.D. Smith, G. Zhang, J.J. Chen, H. Benveniste, “Ventricular dilation and elevated aqueductal pulsations in a new experimental model of communicating hydrocephalus”, Exp Neurol, 218(1):33-40 (2009).
20. M.E. Wagshul, E.J. Kelly, H.J. Yu, B. Garlick, T. Zimmerman, M.R. Egnor, “Resonant and notch behavior in intracranial pressure dynamics”, J Neurosurg Pediatr. 3(5):354-64 (2009).
21. M. Maletiæ-Savatiæ, L.K. Vingara, L.N. Manganas, Y. Li, S. Zhang, A. Sierra, R. Hazel, D. Smith, M.E. Wagshul, F. Henn, L. Krupp, G. Enikolopov, H. Benveniste, P.M. Djuriæ, I. Pelczer, “Metabolomics of neural progenitor cells: a novel approach to biomarker discovery”, Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 73:389-401 (2008).
22. F.A. Dilmanian, P. Romanelli, Z. Zhong, R. Wang, M.E. Wagshul, J. Kalef-Ezra, M.J. Maryanski, E.M. Rosen, D.J. Anschel, “Microbeam radiation therapy: Tissue dose penetration and BANG-gel dosimetry of thick-beam array interlacing”, Eur J Radiol, 68:S129-S136 (2008).
23. R. Zou, E.H. Park, E. McCormack-Kelly, M. Egnor, M.E. Wagshul, J.R. Madsen, “Intracranial pressure waves: Characterization of a pulsation absorber with notch filter properties using systems analysis”, J Neurosurg Pediatrics, 2:83-94 (2008).
24. G. Nagra, J. Li, J.P. Mcallister, J. Miller, M.E. Wagshul, M. Johnston, “Lymphatic cerebrospinal fluid absorption impaired in a kaolin-induced hydrocephalus model in the rat”, Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, 294(5):R1752-1759 (2008).
25. J. Li, Y. Shen, J.P. McAllister II, M.E. Wagshul, J.M. Miller, M.R. Egnor, M.G. Johnston, E.M. Haacke, M.L. Walker, “Communicating Hydrocephalus in Adult Rats with Obstruction of the Basal Cisterns or Cortical Subarachnoid Spaces”, Experimental Neurology, 211:351-361 (2008). 
26. L.R. Mujica-Parodi, M. Korgaonkar, B. Ravindranath, T. Greenberg, D. Tomasi, M. E. Wagshul, B. Ardekani, D. Guilfoyle, J. Kilpatrick, M. Sedler, D. Malaspina, “Limbic Dysregulation Predicts Lowered Heart Rate Variability and Increased Trait Anxiety in Healthy Adults”, Human Brain Mapping, 30:47-58  (2008).
27. L. Manganas, S. Zhang, R. Hazel, M. E. Wagshul, H. Benveniste, P. Djuric, G. Enikolopov, M. Maletic-Savatic, “Magnetic resonance spectroscopy identifies neural progenitor cells in the live human brain”, Science 318(5852):980-985 (2007).
28. E.J. McCormack, M.R. Egnor, M.E. Wagshul, “Improved cerebrospinal fluid flow measurements using phase contrast balanced steady state free precession”, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 25:172-182 (2007).
29. M.E. Wagshul, J.J. Chen, M.R. Egnor, E.J. McCormack, P.E. Roche, “Amplitude and Phase of Cerebrospinal Fluid Pulsations: Experimental Studies and Review of the Literature”, J Neurosurg 104:810-819 (2006).
30. R. Zou, E. McCormack, M. Egnor, D. Kim, M. Wagshul, B. Macdonald, J. Madsen, “Increased Phase Synchronization between Intracranial Pressure and Arterial Blood Pressure during Elevated Intracranial Pressure in Dogs.”, Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 1(1):315-318 (2005).
31. M. Egnor, M. Wagshul, L. Zheng, A. Rosiello, “Resonance and the Synchrony of Arterial and CSF Pulsations”, Pediat Neurosurg, 38:273-276 (2003).
32. J.P. Mugler, B. Driehuys, J.R. Brookeman, G.D. Cates, S.S. Berr, R.G. Bryant, T.M. Daniel, E.E. de Lange, J.H. Downs, C.J. Erickson, W. Happer, D.P. Hinton, N.F. Kassel, T. Maier, C.D. Phillips, B.T. Saam, K.L. Sauer, and M. E. Wagshul, “MR Imaging and Spectroscopy Using Hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe Gas: Preliminary Human Results”, Magn. Res. Med. 37, 809-815 (1997).
33. M. E. Wagshul, T. Button, H. Li, Z. Liang, C. Springer, K. Zhong and A. Wishnia, “In Vivo MR Imaging and Spectroscopy Using Hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe”, Magn. Res. Med., 36, 183 (1996).
34. L.P. Ratliff, M.E. Wagshul, P.D. Lett, S.L. Rolston and W.D. Phillips, “Photoassociative Spectroscopy of 1_g, O_u⁺, and O_g^- States of Na₂”, J. Chem. Phys. Lett. 101, 2638 (1994). 
35. M.E. Wagshul and T.E. Chupp, “Laser Optical Pumping of High-density Rb in Polarized ³He Targets”, Phys. Rev. A 49, 3854 (1994).
36. T. E. Chupp, M. E. Wagshul, K. P. Coulter, A. B. McDonald and W. Happer, “Polarized, High-density, Gaseous ³He Targets”, Phys. Rev. C 36, 2244-2251 (1987).