Jump to content

Ravi S. Menon

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ravi S. Menon
Born1964 (age 59–60)
Elkins, West Virginia, USA
SpouseAnne J. Menon
Parent(s)Thuppalay Kochu Menon and Rama Menon
Academic background
EducationBSc, Physics Honours, University of British Columbia
MSc(A), Medical Physics, McGill University
PhD, 1990, University of Alberta
ThesisSome mechanisms of water proton NMR relaxation in model tissue systems. (1990)
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Western Ontario

Ravi Shankar Menon FRSC FCAHS (born 1964) is a Canadian-American biophysicist. He is a former Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging at the University of Western Ontario and director of the Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping at the Robarts Research Institute.

Early life and education

[edit]

Menon was born in 1964[1] and lived in West Virginia, Virginia, Hawaii, Bombay and Maryland before graduating from University Hill Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia.[2] He was born into an academic family as his mother was an electrical engineer and his father was an astronomer.[3] Menon completed his entire post-secondary education in Canada. His Bachelor of Science degree was at the University of British Columbia, his Master of Science degree was at McGill University, and his PhD was at the University of Alberta.[3] His thesis at the University of Alberta was conducted under the supervision of Peter S. Allen in 1990 and titled Some mechanisms of water proton NMR relaxation in model tissue systems.[4] Following this, Menon completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota where he was heavily involved in the development of a brain imaging technique called Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) with Seiji Ogawa and David W. Tank of Bell Labs and Menon's post-doctoral supervisor, Kamil Ugurbil. The aim of the technique was to measure changing blood flow and oxygenation to observe brain function.[5][6]

Career

[edit]

Following his post-doctoral fellowship, Menon joined the Robarts Research Institute to develop techniques to gather better images of the brain with MRIs through fMRI.[7] By 2002, Menon was an associate professor in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) and held a Canada Research Chair in Functional Neuroimaging.[2] In these roles, Menon continued his research into fMRI and led a laboratory at the Robarts Research Institute.[5] As a result of his research, Menon was named one of Canada's Top 20 researchers aged 40 and under in 2002.[2] Following this, Menon was appointed a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Functional and Molecular Imaging in 2005.[8][9] While working in this role, Menon was named a member of the steering committee that established the Canadian Action and Perception Network (CAPnet) between York University, Queen's University at Kingston, and UWO. The aim of the iniatiative was to "understand how the brain works, especially in human movement control and perception, and how disease and injury can disrupt these functions."[10] In 2009, he was again recognized amongst the top 40 researchers under the age of 40.[11]

Following the renewal of his Tier 1 Canada Research Chair,[12] Menon collaborated with PhD candidate Matthew Quinn to discover if iron deposits in the brain are a cause or consequence of Multiple Sclerosis. They published a study in 2013 that suggested that iron deposits in deep gray matter occur very early on in the disease course.[13][14] Based on this research, Menon then developed a new technique to track the progression of Multiple Sclerosis by measuring damage in specific areas of the brain called Quantitative Susceptibility Magnetic Resonance Imaging.[15] His contributions to advancements in fMRI and ultra-high-field MRI were later recognized with an election of Fellowship to the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine[16] and Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.[17]

In July 2017, Menon was named Co-Scientific Director of BrainsCAN at UWO with Lisa Saksida.[18] While working in his new role, Menon began to publish his research on concussions among young athletes who play ice hockey and rugby. In October 2017, he compared MRI brain scans from 17 Bantam-level hockey players who suffered a concussion compared to similarly aged non-concussed players.[19] This subsequently raised concerns about the concussion protocols in youth hockey.[20] Menon later revealed that there were significant structural and functional changes to the brain between concussed players and non-concussed.[21] In 2019, Menon was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada for being a "pioneer in the use of MRI for structural and functional brain imaging."[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Menon, Ravi Shankar, 1964-". viaf.org. VIAF. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Scientist at Robarts Research Institute among Canada's Top 20". eurekalert.org. Eurekalert. April 1, 2002. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Ravi Menon". robarts.ca. Robarts Research Institute. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  4. ^ "Alumni". ualberta.ca. University of Alberta. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  5. ^ a b O'Rielly, Michael (1997). "Canada's largest magnet finds home in new MRI program in London" (PDF). Canadian Medical Association Journal. 156 (1): 69–70. PMC 1226866. PMID 9006571. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "Canadian researchers unlocking brain mysteries". Newspapers.com. Edmonton Journal. December 4, 1998. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  7. ^ Allen, Peter S. (April 24, 1996). "Local twist to story on brain research". Newspapers.com. Edmonton Journal. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  8. ^ "Western recruits top U.S. researchers". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail. April 27, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  9. ^ "ProActive Disclosure for the Canada Research Chairs (2005)" (PDF). Canada Research Chairs. 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  10. ^ "York, Western and Queen's announce joint neuroscience initiative". news.yorku.ca. York University. December 1, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  11. ^ Miller, Andre; McKinnon, Matthew; Schulgan, Christopher; Smith, Michael (April 25, 2009). "Top forty/under forty". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  12. ^ "Canada Research Chairs renewed". schulich.uwo.ca. University of Western Ontario. March 13, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  13. ^ "New imaging research shows increased iron in the brain in earliest stages of MS". schulich.uwo.ca. University of Western Ontario. October 28, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  14. ^ "Western imaging research improves MS diagnosis". CTV News. December 27, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  15. ^ "Imaging scientists develop a better tool for tracking MS". eurekalert.org. Eurekalert. May 27, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  16. ^ "Ravi Menon, PhD, selected as senior fellow by International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine for lifetime achievements in brain imaging research". schulich.uwo.ca. University of Western Ontario. June 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  17. ^ Winders, Jason (September 22, 2015). "Forchuk, Menon tapped for CAHS Fellowship by peers". news.westernu.ca. University of Western Ontario. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  18. ^ Winders, Jason (July 11, 2017). "Menon tapped as BrainsCAN Co-Scientific Director". news.westernu.ca. University of Western Ontario. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  19. ^ "Post-concussion brain changes persist even after pre-teen hockey players return to play". Media Relations. University of Western Ontario. October 25, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  20. ^ Strashin, Jamie (March 22, 2018). "Do concussion protocols in youth hockey go far enough?". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  21. ^ "Pieces of the Puzzle". schulich.uwo.ca. University of Western Ontario. 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  22. ^ Mayne, Paul (September 10, 2019). "Western elite named among Royal Society Fellows". news.westernu.ca. University of Western Ontario. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ravi_S._Menon&oldid=1177214515"