Dr Ajay Halai

Interests

I completed a cross discipline PhD (MRC Capacity-Building) at the University of Manchester, combining psychology with neuroimaging. I gained technical skills such as acquiring and analysing multi-modal neuroimaging data (MRI, fMRI, EEG and diffusion tensor imaging). My goal was to move towards applied research; therefore, I initiated and designed a large-scale stroke database at the University of Manchester, in collaboration with Prof. Lambon Ralph. I then moved to the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit to continue aphasia research, where I learnt how to apply advanced analytics to stroke data (i.e., machine learning to predict deficits). I also setup two specialist NHS aphasia clinics to aid clinical translation. I was recently was awarded an MRC CDA to set up my own research lab focusing on understanding longitudinal stroke recovery in terms of behavioural and neural changes.

Research Focus

Equipment

Behavioural analysis

Cross-sectional and cohort studies

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Neuropsychological testing

Randomised control trials