Magnetic Resonance (MR) Imaging is a complex, non-invasive imaging modality. It uses strong magnetic fields and radiofrequency waves to create detailed images of a patient’s internal anatomy and physiology. Unlike many other types of imaging, there is no ionising radiation hazard for the patient. The strong magnetic fields and radiofrequency waves create unique, serious hazards for patients with certain medical implants and for certain medical equipment, which require careful management.
The MR physics service at Christie Medical Physics and Engineering (CMPE) comprises 12 clinical scientists, 2 MR physicists and 2 trainee clinical scientists who provide clinical and research support within The Christie, and clinical support across over 50 scanners at NHS trusts in the North West of England via regional contracts.
The MR physics group regularly work on site in each MR department, which smoothly integrates the important role of MR physics into a wide range of clinical services across the region. Regular time spent on site at each Trust is crucial to provide such high level, integrated support.
The support provided involves working closely with senior radiographers, radiologists, oncologists and radiology service managers to ensure the efficient and safe running of each service. The MR physics group members at The Christie pride themselves on a friendly, inclusive and collaborative approach to delivering the very best service to MR departments and their patients.
In 2024, the CMPE MR physics group were shortlisted for the Chief Scientific Officer’s healthcare science service of the year at the advancing healthcare awards for the introduction of three new innovative services, where they were highly commended by the judging panel for bringing ‘innovation in the fast lane’ You can see all of the winners including The Christie’s commendation on the Advancing Healthcare Awards website.
In 2025, the group received the ‘Patient Impact Award’ at the North West Healthcare Science Awards for the effectively MR Conditional CIED procedure. The procedure widened access to MR for patients with unapproved pacemakers and implanted defibrillators.
The MR physics group regularly contribute cutting-edge clinical work to national and international conferences, drawing on their experiences across the region, for example in advanced safety support, protocol optimisation and support for MR for radiotherapy.
The MR physics group supports a wide range of MR scanning activities at The Christie. The radiology department has 1 3T and 3 1.5T scanners and offers clinical imaging for patient diagnosis, routine follow up post-cancer treatment, and radiotherapy treatment planning.
The unique Elekta Unity MR-Linac, which combines a linear accelerator and MR scanner, enables a patient to have 1.5T MR imaging and adaptive radiotherapy treatment on the same machine, in the same appointment. The proton beam therapy centre at The Christie has a 1.5T MR scanner to assist proton beam therapy treatment planning.
In addition to our comprehensive routine clinical scientist support, the MR physics group provides additional support for the MR for radiotherapy (MR-RT) services at the trust via extensive system QA and service review. There is ongoing work to ensure MR imaging for external beam radiotherapy treatment planning meets the recommendations in the IPEM topical report. We provide support for MR-RT sequence and QA services both within the trust and externally across the region.
The MR physics group is actively involved in novel MR research, primarily through strong links to the Radiotherapy Related Research group at The University of Manchester. This research focuses on the development of MR techniques for guiding the delivery of radiotherapy and evaluating therapy response. The group has a strong track record with oxygen-enhanced (OE) MRI for RT, dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI and diffusion MRI, on standard MR scanners and the MR-Linac. This research forms part of the Radiotherapy BioAdaption theme within the Cancer Research UK Manchester Centre, and the functional imaging adaptation programme within the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre.
The MR research group, led by Dr Michael Dubec, includes members with dedicated research or combined clinical and research roles. The group focuses on the development, validation, and clinical translation of quantitative MRI techniques for radiotherapy planning, guidance, and response monitoring, including on hybrid MR–Linac systems.
The group maintains a strong academic profile, with publications and international conference presentations, and supervision and training of undergraduate, postgraduate, and clinical researchers. The group actively collaborates with other groups, both nationally and internationally.
The MR physics group provides support to many NHS trusts throughout the North West of England. Support is tailored to the individual needs of each department. This unique position allows best practice to be shared throughout the region, including high level support to individual NHS trusts during the development of new local services.
Key elements of our service include:
- Ensuring MR department compliance with the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work (CEMFAW) Regulations 2016
- Provision and regular update of all necessary MR Safety Framework documentation and implant policies
- MRSE services from our team of expert MR clinical scientists (including IPEM certified, and MRSCTM certified MRSEs)
- Support with documentation to obtain and retain Imaging Services Accreditation from UKAS
- MR safety procedures for complex services such as the scanning of patients with unapproved cardiac implanted electronic devices, with off-label medical devices and MR scanning of patients under general anaesthetic
- Expert input to ensure that imaging protocols are optimised for both acquisition time and image quality, including extensive experience of MR advanced acceleration technology (AAT) implementation
- Specialist support with site planning and scanner specification when replacing, upgrading or installing additional MR equipment
- Acceptance testing of any new equipment
- Investigation of MR safety incidents
- Ensuring the QA requirements of the NHSBSP Report 68 guidance are met for sites offering MR screening scans for women at higher risk of breast cancer
This is achieved through regular on-site, in-person visits to each department across the region. We also provide remote support via email, and video or phone calls for urgent queries. We regularly review our practice to develop and improve the service we offer to MR departments, and their patients, through audit and continuing professional development (CPD).
The MR physics group has played a major role in the NHS England Improvement (NHSEI) MRI advanced acceleration technology (AAT) rollout in the North West of England. We have supported many trusts in achieving significant gains in imaging capacity in MR. Our large MR physics group is ideally placed to lead and support projects such as this across the North West Imaging Networks.
The MR group has a strong tradition of delivering excellent MR safety and MR physics teaching. CMPE are the leading accredited training centre in the region for the training of new clinical scientists via the NHS Scientist Training Program (STP) and contribute to the development of clinical scientists on the Higher Specialist Scientific Training (HSST) national program via teaching and academic supervision. We have a lead role in delivering training to provide the MR physics workforce required across the North West Imaging Networks.
In addition to STP and HSST, our teaching, training and outreach activities include:
- Postgraduate teaching at the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Cumbria for MR radiographers and healthcare scientists
- Development and delivery of the Corsmed MR Radiographer upskilling course for the North West Imaging Academy
- Teaching on the FRCR programme for radiologists
- Regular, tailored MR safety and MR physics talks for MR radiographer colleagues across the region and nationally, in addition to the customer learning hub below
- Online customer learning hub where we host a wide variety of training material for radiology staff across the region
- Regular customer newsletter containing important MR safety and MR physics updates and educational material
- Outreach and public engagement to highlight the work of medical physicists in healthcare
Across the MR group, we are involved with professional bodies and national activities including:
External advisor for IPEM Clinical Scientist Guided Training Scheme
Association of Clinical Scientists (ACS) assessor for route 2 training scheme
National working parties and task and finish groups, e.g. membership of IPEM MR for RT working party and STERIC, the IPEM Science, Technology and Engineering committee (STEC)
North West Imaging Academy Governance Board membership
IPEM MRSE Portfolio Assessor
Question writer and Assessor for the STP Final Year Assessment
These voluntary roles bring huge benefits for both group members and the customers we support and ensure the MR group are closely involved in developing the profession and informing national policy making.
Steve Jackson – consultant clinical scientist
Steve is a consultant clinical scientist and the group leader of the imaging with non-ionising section at The Christie. Steve completed the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP) with the MR group in 2018, following a BSc (Hons) in maths and physics and an MSc in theoretical physics. He began leading the group in 2024.
His current work involves leading the MR physics group through an ever-changing landscape and developing MR physics support services within the North West Imaging Networks. He currently sits on the IPEM MR SIG and regularly contributes to national and international conferences.
Steve has a strong track record teaching MR physics and MR safety, including significant input into the design of the ‘Clinical MRI’ CPD module at the University of Liverpool and the Corsmed MR simulator course in collaboration with the North West England Imaging and Teaching Academy. In April 2022, he became an IPEM certified MR Safety Expert (MRSCTM).
Dr Judith Kilgallon – principal clinical scientist
Judith joined The Christie as a trainee clinical scientist having completed her degree in Physics from the University of Leeds and PhD in Experimental Nuclear Structure Physics from The University of Manchester. Judith leads the support of our trainee clinical scientists and is heavily involved with the group’s teaching activities. Her clinical work stretches across much of the group’s regional service.
Dr Michael Dubec – principal clinical scientist (MR research lead)
Michael joined the MR group in 2014 after completing a BSc (Hons) in Physics, an MSc[SJ6.1] in Medical Radiation Physics and an MSc in Clinical Science (Medical Physics) as part of the NHS Scientist Training Programme. Michael completed his PhD entitled ‘Optimising MRI biomarkers of hypoxia for use in advanced radiotherapy’ in March 2025.
Michael leads MR research activities at The Christie as part of the Division of Cancer Sciences (University of Manchester), including developing quantitative MR methods in oncology and for image-guided radiotherapy. His clinical work at The Christie continues, much of which relates to the IPEM national guidance on MR for radiotherapy treatment planning, which he co-authored.
Dr James Harkin – principal clinical scientist
James started working at The Christie in summer 2022. James' interest in MR began during their undergraduate physics degree, after which they undertook a PhD in MRI, focussing on hyperpolarised respiratory MRI. Later, James moved to working in the NHS at University Hospitals Dorset, where they achieved HCPC registration through route 2, as well as IPEM MR Safety Expert Certification. James is also a member of the STERIC, IPEM's strategic council, which oversees scientific, academic, innovation and research activities.
Guy Drabble – principal clinical scientist
Guy originally joined The Christie back in 2014 on the medical physics STP, having completed a degree in physics with particle physics and cosmology. He completed his training in 2017, specialising in radiotherapy and gaining his MSc in Clinical Science (Medical Physics).
Guy briefly left The Christie in 2019 to work in the education sector. Working at The University of Manchester, he helped to run the academic section of the Higher Specialist Scientist Training (HSST) programme. Guy has used this experience to develop the Corsmed MR Simulator course in collaboration with the North West Imaging Academy.
Rachael Franklin – principal clinical scientist
Rachael joined the group in 2023 from Guy’s and St Thomas’ in South London where she completed the Scientist Training Program (STP) between 2019-2022. Whilst there, she also supported the fetal cardiac MRI service, led computing support to the team, and supported rotational STP training. Prior to her training in medical physics, she worked at Metaswitch, testing networking and automation software.
Rachael will be providing clinical support to a number of sites across the North West region.
Chris Moore – clinical scientist
Chris completed an undergraduate physics degree at The University of Manchester. After a brief time as a software engineer, he successfully applied for the Scientist Training Programme (STP) in medical physics. He completed the programme in September 2021 and has taken on a clinical role in the MR group.
Chris splits his time between regional physics support and providing research support to the Radiotherapy Related Research group, with research interests including image registration, quantitative MR imaging biomarkers and longitudinal quantitative quality assurance of DWI images.
Dr Damien McHugh – clinical scientist
Damien joined the MR group in January 2021, having completed a PhD and post-doc positions at The University of Manchester. His research was mainly focused on diffusion-weighted imaging and his PhD thesis was entitled ’The effect of tumour microstructure on diffusion-weighted MRI measurements'. In August 2024, Damien achieved HCPC registration through route 2.
Damien has a 50/50 split role within the group, dedicating half of his time to providing clinical MR support to our regional sites and utilising his strong academic background for the other half by supporting radiotherapy-related MR research at The Christie.
Dr Hanna Hanson – MR physicist
Hanna joined the group in July 2023 and is working towards HCPC registration through route 2. Prior to this she undertook a PhD in the University of Manchester Radiotherapy Related Research group. Her research focused on respiratory motion management on the MR-Linac and she has recently submitted her thesis entitled ‘Methods for fast and accurate MR-guided lung radiotherapy’. Her role in the MR physics group is split between providing clinical MR support and conducting MR research at The Christie.
Dr Sam Curley – clinical scientist
Sam started at The Christie in 2021 and completed the Scientist Training Programme (STP) in 2024. He has since taken up a clinical role within the group, where his responsibilities include providing site-specific MR safety support, delivering physics teaching, and working on clinical MR pulse-sequence optimisation across various sites in the North West of England.
Before joining The Christie, Sam completed a physics PhD at the University of Warwick, focusing on the study of low-dimensional magnetic materials under extreme conditions, such as low temperatures, high magnetic fields, and high pressures.
Dr Rory Brown – clinical scientist
Rory joined The Christie MR group in 2025 after completing his STP training in Newcastle upon Tyne. While at Newcastle he contributed to research into quantitative MR methods, and supported other STP trainees working in non-ionising radiation. He will provide clinical MR support to sites across the North West.
Prior to joining The Christie, Rory completed a PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Manchester. His research was focused on the electronic properties of graphene-based heterostructures.
Peter Latimer – clinical scientist
Peter started at The Christie in 2022 and completed the Scientist Training Programme (STP) in 2025. In 2020, he received his MPhys (Hons) in Theoretical Physics at the University of Manchester and went on to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PDGE) while working as a Science teacher at a local secondary school.
Peter has a split role within the imaging with non-ionising group, dedicating 60% of his time to provide clinical MR support and 40% providing ultrasound support to our regional sites. As part of his role, he will be making use of his teaching experience to support teaching and training across both modalities.
Joe Bradley - clinical scientist
Joe holds a BSc (Hons) in Theoretical Physics from the University of Hull, including a year in industry undertaking imaging research at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. He subsequently completed an MRes focused on Oxygen-Enhanced MRI and began, but did not complete, a PhD investigating 7T MRI at the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre. Joe later joined the Scientist Training Programme (STP) in Non-Ionising Imaging at The Christie and, in October 2026, achieved HCPC registration as a Clinical Scientist.
Dr Prashant Nair – MR research scientist
Prashant joined the MR group in July 2026, bringing expertise in MRI physics, diffusion imaging and sequence development. He completed a PhD in magnetic resonance neurography of the brachial plexus.
Previously, as a Postdoctoral Training Fellow at The Institute of Cancer Research London, Prashant benchmarked various diffusion techniques to image prostate and used deep learning to accelerate diffusion-weighted MRI. Prashant’s current research focuses on MRI biomarkers in pancreatic cancer in patients undergoing radiotherapy.
Jess Woolley - trainee clinical scientist
Jess joined the MR Group in 2025 as a specialist trainee on the Scientist Training Programme (STP), specialising in Imaging with Non-Ionising Radiation. She earned her MPhys (Hons) from the University of Southampton in 2024, where she collaborated with MR physicists at Southampton General Hospital on research into early detection methods for Alzheimer's disease using MRI.
Dan Earnshaw - trainee clinical scientist
Dan joined the MR group in 2026 as part of the Scientist Training Programme, after earning an MSci. (Hons) degree in medical physics from the University of Nottingham. During his research project at the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, Dan worked with sodium detection methods using low field-strength MR spectroscopy to develop a novel biomarker.
The MR group is active in the MR research community. Across the group, we regularly author and contribute to scientific papers and present at national and international research meetings.
Recent publications and selected conference involvement
Publications
2026
Chris Moore, Asher Ezekiel, Vodathi Bamunuarachchi, Ereny Saad c, Anubhav Datta, Peter Hoskin, Ananya Choudhury, Marcel van Herk, David L. Buckley, Michael J. Dubec , Damien J. McHugh. Feasibility of longitudinal prostate R2⁎ measurements in patients undergoing stereotactic ablative radiotherapy on an MRI-linac. Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology, Volume 41, 2026, 101103, ISSN 2405-6316, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phro.2026.101103.
McHugh DJ, Swinton M, Hart CA, Martinez DS, Moore C, Oates J, Lau M, Ramani V, Sachdeva A, Clarke N, Buckley DL, van Herk M, Hudson A, Choudhury A, Bristow RG, Dubec MJ. Technical and biological validation of prostate apparent diffusion coefficient measurements on an MRI-linac. Radiother Oncol. 2026 Sep 30:111801. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2026.111801. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42815775.
Datta A, Dubec MJ, Berks M, Little RA, Barraclough L, Haslett K, Porta N, Manoharan P, Buckley DL, West C, Choudhury A, Hoskin P, O'Connor JPB. Oxygen-enhanced MRI in patients with uterine cervical carcinoma: feasibility and treatment-associated changes in tumour oxygen-enhanced response. Front Oncol. 2026 Jul 24;16:1859532.
Tijssen RHN, Petit SF, de Smet M, van Kesteren Z, Glide-Hurst C, Paulson E, Speight R, Dubec MJ, Brunenberg EJL, Kuijer JPA. MRI for radiotherapy guidelines: A comparative review of recommendations by IPEM topical report, AAPM TG-284, and NCS report 36. Med Phys. 2026 Jul;53(7):e70529.
Speight R, Allwood-Spiers S, Dubec MJ, George B, Hamill-Taylor C, Hedley S, McDaid L, Schmidt M, Wyatt J, Herbert T. IPEM Topical Report: a national survey of MRI use for external beam radiotherapy treatment planning in the UK: 2025 IPEM survey results. Phys Med Biol. 2026 May 5;71(9).
Hormuth DA 2nd, Dubec MJ, Rao A, Reyes AL, Harrington KJ, Buckley DL, O'Connor JP, Yankeelov TE. Predicting head and neck cancer response to radiotherapy using mathematical modeling of MRI-based habitats. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2026 Apr 16;10(1):276.
Hannah Bainbridge, Michael J. Dubec, Andreas Wetscherek, Rob H.N. Tijssen, Jose Belderbos, Corine Van Es, David Cobben, Guido H.W. van Bogerijen, David Woolf, Marcel van Herk, Ferry Lalezari, Dow-Mu Koh, Fiona McDonald, Corrine Faivre-Finn, Magnetic resonance imaging thoracic organ-at-risk atlas for radiation oncology, Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology. 2026,100952.
Anna-Maria Shiarli, Michael J. Dubec, Merina Ahmed, Jon T. Asmussen, Hannah Bainbridge, José S. Belderbos, Sean Brown, Johan Bussink, David Cobben, Bram H.J. Geurts, Andrew Hope, John Kavanagh, Dow-Mu Koh, Ferry Lalezari, Alexander V. Louie, Laura G. Merckel, Firdaus A.M. Hoesein, James P.B. O’Connor, Rocio Perez-Johnston, Tyson J. Reeve, Andreas Rimner, Peter S.N. van Rossum, Dominic A.X. Schinagl, Tine Schytte, Craig Stevens, Alex Tan, Rob H.N. Tijssen, Nina Tunariu, Marcel Van Herk, Joost J.C. Verhoeff, Andreas Wetscherek, Rianne Wittenberg, David Woolf, Corinne Faivre-Finn, Fiona McDonald. Recommendations for contouring of gross tumour volume for locally advanced lung cancer using magnetic resonance imaging. Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology. 2026,100948.
Zhong, F. Slevin, S. Brown, M. Serra, P. Bownes, C. Thompson, R. Reed, K. Reeves, M. Dubec, C. Eccles, R. Chuter, Y.M. Tsang, N.J. Taylor, C.M.L. West, D. Buckley, R. Alonzi, A. Scarsbrook, A. Choudhury, P. Hoskin, A.M. Henry. Reirradiation Options for Previously Irradiated Prostate Cancer: Is It Feasible to Randomise Between Treatment With Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) Versus High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy?, Clinical Oncology. 2026, 104085.
2025
McHugh DJ, Datta A, Dubec MJ, Buckley DL, Little RA, Berks M, Cheung S, Haslett K, Barraclough L, West CML, Choudhury A, Hoskin P and O’Connor JPB. Intra-voxel incoherent motion biomarker repeatability in healthy volunteers and sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy-induced changes in patients with uterine cervical cancer. Frontiers in Oncology, 2025;15:1633456.
Chris Moore, Charlotte Bull, Angela Darekar, Daniel Wilson, Alex Goodall, Prakash Manoharan, Peter Hoskin, Marcel van Herk, David L. Buckley, Damien J. McHugh, Anubhav Datta, Michael J. Dubec, Multi-institution longitudinal apparent diffusion coefficient measurements in a diffusion weighted imaging phantom at room temperature. Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology, 2025;35:100814.
Sam Keaveney, Damien J McHugh, Mihaela Rata, et al., An open-source repository-based tool for quality control of imaging protocol compliance: demonstration in a multicentre MRI study. British Journal of Radiology, 2025;98:1236–1244.
Dubec MJ, Berks M, Price J, McDaid L, Gaffney J, Little R, Cheung S, van Herk M, Choudhury A, Matthews JC, McPartlin A, Parker GJM, Buckley DL, and O'Connor JPB. Translation of dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging onto a magnetic resonance-guided linear accelerator in patients with head and neck cancer. Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology. 2025;33:100689.
2024
Dubec MJ, Price J, Berks M, Gaffney J, Little RA, Porta N, Sridharan N, Datta A, McHugh DJ, Hague CJ, Cheung S, Manoharan P, van Herk M, Choudhury A, Matthews JC, Parker GJM, Buckley DL, Harrington KJ, McPartlin A, O'Connor JPB. Oxygen-Enhanced MRI Detects Incidence, Onset, and Heterogeneity of Radiation-Induced Hypoxia Modification in HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer. Clinical Cancer Research. 2024.
Sridharan N, Salem A, Little RA, Tariq M, Cheung S, Dubec M, Faivre-Finn C, Parker GJM, Porta N, O'Connor JPB.Measuring repeatability of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI biomarkers improves evaluation of biological response to radiotherapy in lung cancer. Eur Radiol.
McDaid L, Clough A, Benson RK, Nelder C, McMahon J, Jackson S, Aznar M, Choudhury AC, van Herk M, Eccles CL, Geometric distortion caused by metallic femoral head prosthesis in prostate cancer imaging on an MR Linac: in-vivo measurements of spatial deformation, British Journal of Radiology, Volume 97, Issue 1156, April 2024, Pages 757–762,
2023
Dubec MJ, Buckley DL, Berks M, Clough A, Ganey J, Datta A, McHugh DJ, Porta N, Little RA, Cheung S, Hague C, Eccles CL, Hoskin PJ, Bristow RG, Matthews JC, van Herk M, Choudhury A, Parker GJM, McPartlin A, O'Connor JPB. First-in-human technique translation of oxygen-enhanced MRI to an MR linac system in patients with head and neck cancer. Radiother Oncol. 2023;183:109592.
Zhong J, Brown S, Serra M, Shuttleworth P, Bownes P, Thompson C, Reed, Reeves K, Dubec M, McHugh D, Eccles C, Chuter R, Tsang YM, Taylor J, West C, Buckley D, Scarsbrook A, Choudhury A, Hoskin P, Henry A. Reirradiation options for previously irradiated prostate cancer (RO-PIP): Feasibility study investigating toxicity outcomes following reirradiation with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) versus high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT). BMJ Open 2022;0:e068580.
2022
Andreas Wetscherek, Erik van der Bijl, Astrid L. H. van Lier, Joan Chick, Steven Jackson, Stephen Gibson, Vivian van Pelt, Signe W. Hasler and Rob H. N. Tijssen, Longitudinal Stability of MRI QA up to Two Years on Eight Clinical 1.5 T MR-Linacs. Front. Phys., 13 June 2022 Sec.Medical Physics and Imaging https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2022.891600
Rosie B Hales, Robert Chuter, Alan McWilliam, Amal Salah, Michael Dubec, Linnea Freear, Lisa McDaid, Marianne Aznar, Marcel van Herk, Andrew McPartlin, Cynthia L Eccles. The impact of gadolinium-based MR contrast on radiotherapy planning for oropharyngeal treatment on the MR Linac. Medical Physics, 2022 Jan;49(1):510-520. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.15325.
James Harkin, Cameron Ingham. Comparison of snr assessment techniques for routine multi-element rf coil qc testing. IPEM-Translation, 1 July 2022;2_100012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipemt.2022.100012
Benson R, Rodgers J, Nelder C, Clough A, Pitt E, Parker J, Whiteside L, Davies L, Bailey R, McMahon J, Kolbe H, Cree A, Dubec M, Van Herk M, Choudhury A, Hoskin P, Eccles C, The impact of an educational tool in cervix image registration across three imaging modalities, British Journal of Radiology, Volume 95, Issue 1137, 1 September 2022.
Whiteside L, McDaid L, Hales R, Rodgers J, Dubec M, Huddart R, Choudhury A, Eccles C. To see or not to see: Evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging sequences for use in MR Linac-based radiotherapy treatment. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences. Volume 53, Issue 3. 2022.
2021
Lewis D, McHugh DJ, Li K-L, Zhu X, McBain C, Lloyd SK, Jackson A, Pathmanaban ON, King AT, Coope DJ. Detection of early changes in the post-radiosurgery vestibular schwannoma microenvironment using multinuclear MRI. Scientific Reports 2021;1115712. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95022-6
McDaid L, Hutton M, Cooper L, Hales RB, Parry C, Waters J, Rodgers JE, Doherty W, Eccles CL. Developing electronic learning to deliver MR safety training in a radiotherapy department. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2021 Dec;52(4S):S24-S31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2021.05.012
McHugh DJ, Porta N, Little RA, Cheung S, Watson Y, Parker GJM, Jayson GC, O'Connor JPB. Image contrast, image pre-processing, and T1 mapping affect MRI radiomic feature repeatability in patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases. Cancers 2021;13:240. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13020240
Speight, R, Dubec, M, Eccles, CL, George, B, Henry, A, Herbert, T, Johnstone, RI, Liney, GP, McCallum, H & Schmidt, MA. 'IPEM topical report: Guidance on the use of MRI for external beam radiotherapy treatment planning', Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2021, vol. 66, no. 5, 055025. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/abdc30
Speight, R, Tyyger, M, Schmidt, MA, Liney, GP, Johnstone, R, Eccles, CL, Dubec, M, George, B, Henry, A, Herbert, T, Nyholm, T, Mahmood, F, Korhonen, J, Sims, R, Tijssen, RHN, Vanhoutte, F, Busoni, S, Lacornerie, T & McCallum, HM. 'IPEM Topical Report: an international IPEM survey of MRI use for external beam radiotherapy treatment planning', Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2021. vol. 66, no. 7, 075007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/abe9f7
Dubec M, Brown S, Chuter R, Hales R, Whiteside L, Rodgers J et al. MRI and CBCT for lymph node identification and registration in patients with NSCLC undergoing radical radiotherapy. Radiotherapy and oncology: journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. 2021 Jun 1;159:112-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2021.03.015
Crockett CB, Samson P, Chuter R , Dubec M, Faivre-Finn C, Green OL, Hackett SL, McDonald F, Robinson C, Shiarli A, Straza MW, Verhoeff JJC, Werner-Wasik M, Vlacich G, Cobben D. Initial Clinical Experience of MR-Guided Radiotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Frontiers in Oncology. 11. 2021.
Conference involvement (asterisk denotes speaker)
2026
Joe Bradley*, Acoustic noise reduction techniques for paediatric proton beam therapy planning, IPEM STEF, 2026.
James Harkin*, Reduced SAR and B1+rms Protocol Optimisation, IPEM Full FOV, 2026.
James Harkin*, Launch of the MOSAES (MR Off-label Scanning Adverse Events and Successes) database, IPEM Full FOV, 2026.
James Harkin* (on behalf of Rachael Franklin) Establishing baselines for cardiac T1 and T2 mapping quality assurance, IPEM Full FOV 2026.
Guy Drabble*, Teaching MR physics to radiographers using an interactive, browser-based MR simulator, IPEM Full FOV 2026.
Damien J. McHugh*, Anubhav Datta, Tyler M. Seibert, Christopher C. Conlin, Kimberley Reeves, Alan McWilliam, Ananya Choudhury, Cynthia Eccles, David L. Buckley, Michael J. Dubec, Jane Shortall. Feasibility of high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging on an MRI-linac to improve prostate lesion conspicuity. MRinRT Symposium 2026, oral presentation.
Peter Latimer*, Marianna Theodoulou, Anubhav Datta, Cynthia Eccles, Ananya Choudhury, Michael Dubec, Petra van Houdt, Vivian van Pelt, Marlies E Nowee, Damien McHugh. Investigating the apparent diffusion coefficient as a biomarker of treatment response in pancreas tumours on an MR-Linac. MRinRT Symposium 2026, poster presentation.
Chris Moore*, Martin Swinton, Damien J McHugh, Marcel van Herk, Ananya Choudhury, Peter Hoskin, Robert Bristow, David L Buckley, Michael J Dubec. Oxygen-enhanced TOLD and BOLD MRI in prostate cancer and arterial and venous blood. MRinRT Symposium 2026, Poster-Pitch presentation.
2025
Damien McHugh*, Martin Swinton, Claire Hart, Diego Sanchez Martinez, Chris Moore, Jeremy Oates, David Buckley, Andrew Hudson, Ananya Choudhury, Rob Bristow, Michael Dubec. An approach to biological validation of prostate apparent diffusion coefficient measurements on the MRL. MR-Linac Consortium Meeting 2025, oral presentation.
Michael Dubec*. Oxygen-Enhanced MRI for Imaging Tumour Hypoxia. MRinRT Symposium 2025. Invited talk.
Michael Dubec*, James Price, Damien McHugh, James O’Connor, David L Buckley. Quantitative Modelling of Oxygen Delivery in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer Using Oxygen-Enhanced MRI. MRinRT Symposium 2025. Oral presentation.
2024
Moore C*, Swinton M, McHugh D, Mathieson K, Osorio Vasquez E, van Herk M, Buckley D, Bristow R, Hudson A, Choudhury A, Dubec M. Feasibility of Oxygen Enhanced MRI in the Prostate on the Elekta-Unity MR-Linac. MR-Linac Consortium Meeting, 2024.
Moore C*, Ezekiel A, Saad E, Swinton M, Buckley DL, Choudhury A, Eccles, C.L, Hoskin P, Dubec M, McHugh D. Blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) MRI of the prostate on the MR-Linac. MR-Linac Consortium Meeting, 2024.
Hanson HM*, Berresford J, Nelder C, McDaid L, Greenwood-Wilson A, Brewster F, Devi A, Datta A, Buckley D, Hoskin P, Choudhury A, Dubec MJ. Integrating Hypoxia Modification and Imaging with Carbogen in Patients with Bladder Cancer on Elekta Unity MR Linac. MR-Linac Consortium Meeting, 2024.
Curley S, Forker L, Oong Z, Dobby B, Nelder C, Tallon J, Greenwood-Wilson A, Eccles C, Choudhury A, Buckley D, Dubec M. Developing oxygen-enhanced MRI in abdominal organs on an MR Linac system. Elekta MR-Linac Consortium Meeting, 2024.
McHugh D, Moore C, Switon M, Buckley D, Hudson A, Choudhury A, Bristow R, Dubec M. Technical validation of prostate apparent diffusion coefficient measurements: understanding differences between MRL and diagnostic scanners. MR-Linac Consortium Meeting, 2024.
Curley S, Forker L, Oong Z, Dobby B, Nelder C, Tallon J, Greenwood-Wilson A, Eccles C, Choudhury A, Buckley D, Dubec M. Developing oxygen-enhanced MRI in abdominal organs on an MR Linac system. MR-Linac Consortium Meeting, 2024.
Dubec MJ*, Berks M, McDaid L, Little RA, Gaffney J, Price J, Cheung S, Porta N, Matthews JC, Choudhury A, van Herk M, McPartlin A, Parker GJM, Buckley DL, O'Connor JPB. Translation of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI in head and neck cancer to the MR Linac. ESTRO 2024, 1300.
Ezekiel A*, Swinton M, Buckley DL, Choudhury A, Eccles CL, Hoskin P, Dubec M, McHugh D. Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) MRI of the prostate on an MR Linac. ESTRO 2024, 1834.
McHugh DJ*, Greenwood-Wilson A, McDaid L, Eccles C, Thomson D, Buckley DL, Choudhury A, van Herk M, Dubec MJ. Developing geometrically robust diffusion-weighted MRI for head and neck imaging on an MR-Linac. ESTRO 2024, 2478.
Moore C, Swinton M, Vasquez Osorio E, McHugh D, Bristow R, van Herk M, Choudhury A, Buckley DL, Sachdeva A, Clarke N, Oates J, Dubec MJ. Feasibility of oxygen-enhanced MRI measurement in the whole prostate on an MR-Linac. ESTRO 2024, 2458.
Jackson S*, M Hutton. Implementation of advanced acceleration techniques. ISMRM 2024
Ezekiel A, Harkin J*, Jackson S. Increased Patient Throughput via Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Diagnostic MRI. IPEM STEF, 16
Drabble G*, Franklin R, Jackson S. Upskilling MR radiographers with physics led, simulator based training. IPEM STEF 2024, 18
Harkin J*, Ezekiel A, Woodhouse N, Phenna S, Jackson S. Effectively MR Conditional Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices. IPEM STEF 2024, 11
Jackson S*, IPEM MR AAT Task and Finish Group update. IPEM Everything MR All At Once, 2024.
2023
Dubec MJ*, Gaffney J, Buckley DL, Berks M, Datta A, McHugh DJ, Little RA, Cheung S, Hague C, Matthews JC, Choudhury A, van Herk M, McPartlin A, Parker GJM, O'Connor JPB. Oxygen-Enhanced MRI Assessment of Radiotherapy-Induced Treatment Effects in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer. ISMRM 2023, 0894.
Datta A, McHugh DJ, Dubec MJ, Buckley DL, Little R, Berks M, Cheung S, West C, Choudhury A, Hoskin P, O'Connor JPB. Evaluating intra-voxel incoherent motion in the uterine cervix: healthy volunteer repeatability and therapy-induced changes in tumours, ISMRM 2023, 0732.
McHugh DJ, Datta A, Dubec MJ, Buckley DL, Little RA, Berks M, Cheung S, West C, Choudhury A, Hoskin P, O'Connor JPB. Evaluating radiotherapy response in uterine cervical tumours using intra-voxel incoherent motion MRI. ESTRO 2023, PO-2069.
Moore C, Clough A, Nelder C, Eccles C, Hoskin P, Chuter R, Zhong J, McHugh D, Choudhury A, Dubec M. Optimising the MRL Consortium Biomarkers Group Prostate DWI Sequence Image Quality & ADC Comparison. ESTRO 2023, PO-2075.
Jackson, S*. Rapid Multi-vendor AAT to increase imaging capacity. IPEM MRI Protocol Development: Clinical Standardisation and Optimisation 2023.
2022
M Dubec*, A Datta, A Clough, DL Buckley, RA Little, M Berks, S Cheung, C Eccles, D Higgins, JH Naish, JC Matthews, M van Herk, RG Bristow, GJ Parker, P Hoskin, A McPartlin, A Choudhury, JP O’Connor, ESTRO (Copenhagen). Presentation: First-in-human clinical translation of oxygen-enhanced MRI onto an MR Linac.
M Dubec*, A Datta, RA Little, A Clough, DL Buckley, C Hague, M Berks, S Cheung, A Salah, D Higgins, C Eccles, RG Bristow, JH Naish, JC Matthews, P Hoskin, M van Herk, , GJ Parker, A Choudhury, A McPartlin, JPB O’Connor, ISMRM (London). Presentation: First in-human technique translation of OE-MRI for hypoxia imaging onto an MR Linac system in patients with head and neck cancer.
M Dubec*, A Datta, RA Little, A Clough, DL Buckley, C Hague, M Berks, S Cheung, A Salah, D Higgins, C Eccles, RG Bristow, JH Naish, JC Matthews, P Hoskin, M van Herk, , GJ Parker, A Choudhury, A McPartlin, JPB O’Connor, Elekta MR Linac Consortium Meeting (Texas & virtual). Presentation: First in-human technique translation of OE-MRI for hypoxia imaging onto an MR Linac system in patients with head and neck cancer.
S Jackson*, UKIO (Liverpool). Implementing advanced acceleration technology (AAT) in clinical MR (BAMRR session).
S Jackson*, D McHugh, C Moore, G Drabble, D Buckley, IPEM MR in RT meeting (Manchester). Presentation: Evaluating an existing MR for RT service against IPEM guidance.
D McHugh*, UKIO (Liverpool). Invited speaker: MR functional imaging techniques - basic principles.
A Clough*, D McHugh*, M Dubec, L Barraclough, K Haslett, A Choudhury, C Eccles, Elekta MR-Linac Consortium meeting (Texas & virtual). E-poster: DW-MRI in the cervix: repeatability and on-treatment changes of the apparent diffusion coefficient.
D McHugh*, M Dubec, J Price, C Moore, D Buckley, JPB O'Connor, A McPartlin, ISMRM (London). E-poster: Identifying perfused tissue regions through IVIM and ADC model comparison: technical validation.
C Moore, D McHugh*, A Clough, J Stickley, R Chuter, A Choudhury, M Dubec ISMRM (London). Lightning presentation: Daily Measurement of Prostate ADC in Patients Undergoing SABR and Conventional Treatment for Prostate Cancer on an MR-Linac
C Moore, D McHugh, A Clough, J Stickley, R Chuter, A Choudhury, M Dubec, ESTRO (Copenhagen) E-poster: Daily Measurement of Prostate ADC in Patients Undergoing SABR and Conventional Treatment for Prostate Cancer on an MR-Linac.
C Moore*, D McHugh, A Clough, J Stickley, R Chuter, A Choudhury, M Dubec IPEM MR in RT (Manchester). Oral presentation: Daily prostate ADC in patients having SABR or conventional prostate radiotherapy on an MR-Linac
2021
Lewis D, McHugh DJ, Li K-L, Zhu X, McBain C, Lloyd SK, Jackson A, Pathmanaban ON, King AT, Coope DJ. Detection of early changes in the post-radiosurgery vestibular schwannoma microenvironment using multinuclear MRI. Scientific Reports 2021;1115712. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95022-6
McDaid L, Hutton M, Cooper L, Hales RB, Parry C, Waters J, Rodgers JE, Doherty W, Eccles CL. Developing electronic learning to deliver MR safety training in a radiotherapy department. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2021 Dec;52(4S):S24-S31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2021.05.012
McHugh DJ, Porta N, Little RA, Cheung S, Watson Y, Parker GJM, Jayson GC, O'Connor JPB. Image contrast, image pre-processing, and T1 mapping affect MRI radiomic feature repeatability in patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases. Cancers 2021;13:240. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13020240
Speight, R, Dubec, M, Eccles, CL, George, B, Henry, A, Herbert, T, Johnstone, RI, Liney, GP, McCallum, H & Schmidt, MA. 'IPEM topical report: Guidance on the use of MRI for external beam radiotherapy treatment planning', Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2021, vol. 66, no. 5, 055025. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/abdc30
Speight, R, Tyyger, M, Schmidt, MA, Liney, GP, Johnstone, R, Eccles, CL, Dubec, M, George, B, Henry, A, Herbert, T, Nyholm, T, Mahmood, F, Korhonen, J, Sims, R, Tijssen, RHN, Vanhoutte, F, Busoni, S, Lacornerie, T & McCallum, HM. 'IPEM Topical Report: an international IPEM survey of MRI use for external beam radiotherapy treatment planning', Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2021. vol. 66, no. 7, 075007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/abe9f7
Dubec M, Brown S, Chuter R, Hales R, Whiteside L, Rodgers J et al. MRI and CBCT for lymph node identification and registration in patients with NSCLC undergoing radical radiotherapy. Radiotherapy and oncology: journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. 2021 Jun 1;159:112-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2021.03.015
Crockett Cathryn B. , Samson Pamela , Chuter Robert , Dubec Michael, Faivre-Finn Corinne , Green Olga L. , Hackett Sara L. , McDonald Fiona , Robinson Clifford , Shiarli Anna-Maria , Straza Michael W. , Verhoeff Joost J. C. , Werner-Wasik Maria , Vlacich Gregory , Cobben David. Initial Clinical Experience of MR-Guided Radiotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Frontiers in Oncology. 11. 2021.