Dr Kaye Morgan
2017 Winner, Phillip Law Postdoctoral Award for the Physical Sciences
VESKI Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Physics, Monash University
Chair of Biomedical Physics, Technische Universität München, Germany

Everyday we observe visible light creating interesting phase effects, like the bright lines dancing on the bottom of a swimming pool or a pair of eyeglasses sitting on a newspaper and distorting the print. These same kind of effects can be observed with x-ray light, and if we understand how x-rays behave, we can exploit these phase effects to capture sensitive and quantitative x-ray images.

Join Dr Kaye Morgan, who will describe her work on new ‘phase contrast’ x-ray imaging techniques that can capture images of not only bone, but also soft tissue structures.  These techniques are in development at research facilities like the Australian Synchrotron, where it is possible to capture high-speed movies of soft tissue dynamics. The talk will conclude by looking at applications of Dr Morgan’s imaging methods in advancing biomedical research and the potential for diagnostic imaging.

About the Speaker:

Dr Kaye Morgan is the 2017 recipient of the Royal Society of Victoria’s Phillip Law Postdoctoral Award for the Physical Sciences, awarded to an outstanding early-career researcher and doctoral graduate from a Victorian institution. She is a VESKI Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the School of Physics at Monash University and the Chair of Biomedical Physics with the Technische Universität München in Germany. In addition to her research into soft -tissue multi-modal x-ray imaging techniques, Kaye also teaches a Masters course in image processing for physics.

After completing her physics PhD at Monash University in 2011, Kaye secured an NHMRC grant to continue at Monash with her research into x-ray imaging of biological interfaces as a post-doctorate researcher, later securing a DECRA Research Fellowship to specifically interrogate the application of her research to Cystic Fibrosis treatments.

In addition to an outstanding collection of grants and awards that acknowledge both her achievements and further potential, Kaye has published extensively both as first and joint author, has established a vibrant international network of research collaborators, has influenced the improvement of synchrotron beamline designs globally and, significantly, is now translating her ‘phase contrast’ imaging work with a synchrotron to more compact laboratory and hosptial-compatible settings to enable medical researchers and radiologists to utilise this next-generation x-ray source for research and clinical diagnostic purposes. Read more about Kaye and her Award here.