Deputy Director, HIRF

Professor Katie McMahon is Deputy Director of Herston Imaging Research Facility. She is employed by Queensland University of Technology, and contributes to teaching and research within the School of Clinical Sciences.

Prof McMahon’s research interests lie in understanding the neurobiology of language, learning and memory, and the genetic and environmental influences on brain structure and function.

When these systems fail, either due to stroke or a degenerative disease like Parkinson’s, imaging markers of lesion size, position and brain network damage might be able to be used to optimise therapeutic intervention, by providing insights on the best type of therapy. She is also investigating behavioural and neurological markers in children with language development problems, such as autism or specific language impairment.

In addition, Prof McMahon collaborates on work looking at musculoskeletal function and MRI markers in whiplash.

Figure: Part of the genetic neuroimaging research has been contributed to a world-wide resource called ENIGMA. Human subcortical brain asymmetry was assessed in 15847 people world-wide, revealing effects of age and sex, published in Brain Imaging and Behaviour in 2016. This figure shows the 7 structures bilaterally, with the colour indicating the larger volume.