Dr. Barry’s research aims to maximize the utility of high-field MR scanners to improve our understanding of central nervous system function and networks in normal and pathological populations. A focus of this work has been on the development and validation of methods for the acquisition, processing, and analysis of blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data at ultra-high fields. Recently, this work was translated from the human brain to the spinal cord. The current focus of the Brain & Spinal Cord Laboratory is the development of next-generation hardware and software for spinal cord MRI and fMRI at 7 Tesla.
Education
PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Western University, Canada
Select Publications
1. Barry RL, Smith SA, Dula AN, Gore JC. Resting state functional connectivity in the human spinal cord. Elife. 2014;3:e02812.
2. Conrad BN, Barry RL, Rogers BP, Maki S, Mishra A, Thukral S, et al. Multiple sclerosis lesions affect intrinsic functional connectivity of the spinal cord. Brain. 2018;141(6):1650-64.
3. Barry RL, Conrad BN, Smith SA, Gore JC. A practical protocol for measurements of spinal cord functional connectivity. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):16512.
Highlights
2014: NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award
The first published demonstration of bilateral resting state functional networks in the human spinal cord (eLife, Aug 2014).