Franklyn Howe is a Professor of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with a research focus to develop automated analysis of multimodal MRI that aids diagnosis of brain tumours. He uses a variety of MRI methods, including perfusion and diffusion imaging, to obtain structural and functional information of brain tissue and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to provide biochemical information.
Professor Howe is interested in applying pattern recognition techniques that can be used to optimally combine data from different MRI methods. With multimodal MRI he aims to develop biomarkers that can aid in diagnosis, assessing patient prognosis and monitor the response to treatment. For glial brain tumours he aims to develop software that can more accurately delineate the tumour, its heterogeneity in tissue type and indicate its aggressiveness.
Professor Howe collaborates with scientists and clinicians in St George’s to apply advanced MRI acquisition and analysis methods to a wide variety of diseases that include: brain tumours, dementia, Tourette syndrome, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lupus, lymphœdema, osteoarthritis and normal ageing. Information gleaned from MRI can aid in understanding the mechanisms of the disease and enable development of biomarkers that can be translated into clinical practice for improved patient management.
Professor Howe is currently Director of the Neuroscience & Cell Biology Research Institute. He has a research focus on brain tumours using 1H MRS with multimodal MRI and pattern recognition methods to aid automated tumour delineation, classification and diagnosis. He collaborates within St George’s in a wide range of clinical research studies using MRI and MRS, which have included cancer, cerebrovascular disease, lupus, muscle bioenergetics, normal aging and osteoarthritis. Professor Howe was involved in the development of MR Neurography at St George's in 1992, a non-invasive method used to obtain detailed images of nerves that can be used to help diagnose nerve-related disorders. He joined St George's in 1988, as a member of the Cancer Research UK Biomedical Magnetic Resonance (MR) Research Group, developing MR imaging and spectroscopy (MRI & MRS) techniques to monitor treatment response in pre-clinical cancer and from 1992 helped develop clinical MR projects at St George’s. In 2007 he was appointed Senior Lecturer and joined the Stroke and Dementia Research Centre and he was appointed Professor in 2014.
His first degree was in Physics (BA [Oxon]) and he obtained a DPhil on 'Magnetisation and microwave absorption in rare earth metal alloys' from the University of Oxford in 1984. He undertook postdoctoral research evaluating MRI contrast agents at St Bartholomew's Hospital and in MR image analysis at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School (now part of Imperial College School of Medicine ) before moving to St George's.
Professor Howe is a long-standing member of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) and has been chair of the ISMRM MRS Study Group and co-founder and chair of the Pediatric MR Study Group.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
2024
- Ratnam LA, Mills M, Wale A, Howroyd LR, Itkin M, Howe FA, Gordon K, Mansour S, Ostergaard P, Mortimer PS. The utility of dynamic contrast-enhanced intranodal magnetic resonance lymphangiography (MRL) in the investigation of primary lymphatic anomalies. Clin Radiol 13 Jun 2024
- Mills M, Brezgyte G, Ho B, Pearce J, Gordon K, Mortimer PS, Ostergaard P, Howe FA. Magnetic resonance lymphangiography: Establishing normal. J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord 12(4):101870 Jul 2024
- Gill SK, Rose HEL, Wilson M, Rodriguez Gutierrez D, Worthington L, Davies NP, MacPherson L, Hargrave DR, Saunders DE, Clark CA, et al. Characterisation of paediatric brain tumours by their MRS metabolite profiles. NMR Biomed 37(5):e5101 May 2024
2023
- Ishihara BK, Hart MG, Barrick TR, Howe FA, Morgante F, Pereira EA. Radiofrequency thalamotomy for tremor produces focused and predictable lesions shown on magnetic resonance images. Brain Commun 5(6):fcad329 2023
- Pauls MM, Fish J, Binnie LR, Benjamin P, Betteridge S, Clarke B, Dhillon M-PK, Ghatala R, Hainsworth FA, Howe FA, et al. Testing the cognitive effects of tadalafil. Neuropsychological secondary outcomes from the PASTIS trial. Cereb Circ Cogn Behav 5:100187 2023
-
2022
- Spilling CA, Howe FA, Barrick TR. Optimization of quasi-diffusion magnetic resonance imaging for quantitative accuracy and time-efficient acquisition. Magn Reson Med 88(6):2532-2547 Dec 2022
- Mills M, Gordon K, Ratnam L, van Zanten M, Mortimer PS, Ostergaard P, Howe FA. Image registration and subtraction in dynamic magnetic resonance lymphangiography (MRL) of the legs. BJR Case Rep 8(4):20210237 01 Jul 2022
- Koushesh S, Shahtaheri SM, McWilliams DF, Walsh DA, Sheppard MN, Westaby J, Haybatollahi SM, Howe FA, Sofat N. The osteoarthritis bone score (OABS): a new histological scoring system for the characterisation of bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 30(5):746-755 May 2022
- Pauls MMH, Binnie LR, Benjamin P, Betteridge S, Clarke B, Dhillon M-PK, Ghatala R, Hainsworth FAH, Howe FA, Khan U, et al. The PASTIS trial: Testing tadalafil for possible use in vascular cognitive impairment. Alzheimers Dement 18(12):2393-2402 Dec 2022
- Binnie LR, Pauls MMH, Benjamin P, Dhillon M-PK, Betteridge S, Clarke B, Ghatala R, Hainsworth FAH, Howe FA, Khan U, et al. Test-retest reliability of arterial spin labelling for cerebral blood flow in older adults with small vessel disease. Transl Stroke Res 13(4):583-594 Aug 2022
- Richardson D, Binney L, Khan U, Rich P, Davis D, Hainsworth A, Howe F, Isaacs J. 1H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Older People with Delirium EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY. 29: 532-532. 2022 (Conference) View record in Web of Science
2021
- Barrick TR, Spilling CA, Hall MG, Howe FA. The Mathematics of Quasi-Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging MATHEMATICS 9(15) Article number ARTN 1763 2021
- Sarchioto M, Howe F, Dumitriu IE, Morgante F, Stern J, Edwards MJ, Martino D. Analyses of peripheral blood dendritic cells and magnetic resonance spectroscopy support dysfunctional neuro-immune crosstalk in Tourette syndrome. Eur J Neurol 28(6):1910-1921 Jun 2021
- Mills M, van Zanten M, Borri M, Mortimer PS, Gordon K, Ostergaard P, Howe FA. Systematic Review of Magnetic Resonance Lymphangiography From a Technical Perspective. J Magn Reson Imaging 53(6):1766-1790 Jun 2021
Full publications from
ORCID:0000-0002-7135-3351
Active and recent funding has been from:
St George's Hospital Charity
Medical Research Council
Innovate UK
Cancer Research UK
St George's Innovation and Enterprise Award
IMMUNITÄET UND SEELE
Alzheimer's Research UK
Professor Howe is co-organiser of the Clinical Neuroscience module offered to medical students who opt to undertake an intercalated BSc course.
He lectures undergraduates about the clinical applications of magnetic resonance imaging, contributing to Anatomy, Biology of Cancer and Clinical Neuroscience modules for MBBS and BSc courses.
He supervises lab-based MRes and BSc student research projects and library-based Special Study Courses on the Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Resonance.