Jamie Near

Assistant Professor, Department of PsychiatrY

ASSOCIATE MEMBER, DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

RESEARCHER, DOUGLAS MENTAL HEALTH UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE

MRI PHYSICIST, DOUGLAS CENTRE D'IMAGERIE CÉRÉBRALE

Jamie’s work is focused on developing non-invasive imaging tools for characterizing brain chemistry and metabolism.  He applies these tools to brain and mental health research, aiming toward a better understanding of the brain, and improved therapy and prevention of brain disorders.  Jamie’s main expertise is in the physics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), a tool for non-invasive assessment brain chemistry and metabolism.  A physicist and engineer by training, Jamie’s research spans multiple disciplines, including MR methods development, biochemistry, neuroscience, and psychiatry.

Jamie holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University and a PhD in Biophysics from Western University’s Robarts Research Institute.  Following his PhD, Jamie did his postdoctoral studies at the FMRIB Centre at Oxford University, where he developed human brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) methods.  Since 2012, Jamie has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and resident MRI physicist at the Douglas Brain Imaging Centre.  He continues to develop RF coils, pulse sequences, and post-processing tools for MRS detection of brain metabolites in humans and in animal models of disease.