Profile – Dr Michael Chappell

We know what you’re thinking.

Name: Doctor Michael Chappell
University: Keble College, Oxford
Age: 25
Course: Engineering Science

When Michael says he ‘knows what you’re thinking’ he’s being entirely literal. Michael looks at the ‘engineering’ of the brain to try and work out what makes us tick and to work out what we can do if something goes wrong.

How did start working in this area?

I came across it slightly by accident. Once I had finished my doctorate I was looking for something to continue my engineering research that was interesting and I happened to come across the job I’m now in. There’s a group of engineers at The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford (a functional MRI Centre). The engineers have a very particular set of skills that they bring to the task. A lot of it is to do with image analysis and explaining how different bits of the brain might work mathematically. It’s taking the data from an MRI scanner and turning it into 3D pictures, but then getting into the detail.

What kind of subjects did you study at school?

Maths, further maths, physics and chemistry. Engineering is a lot about maths but that little bit more applied.
 
Can you tell us what you studied at undergraduate level, and how you moved on?

Engineering Science at Oxford. When I finished that I specialised in electronic information engineering…analysis of signals and images. I then moved straight into a research doctorate, looking at how bubbles form in the bloodstream of scuba divers. That took me into the medical area.

It seems as if you’ve managed to work in a lot of exciting areas not traditionally thought of as being engineering…

Yes, the term engineering is used quite broadly but people frequently have the idea of mechanical tasks like building bridges or fixing cars. Engineering is actually about having a strong skill set in maths which you can apply to an enormous range of problems.

Many of the things I’m doing – dealing with the context of the brain – is the same kind of thing I would be doing dealing with fluids in a jet engine.

So you’re looking at people in mathematical way?

There is an interesting, mixed group of people at the centre I’m working at, being led by engineers. We’re looking to see if we can explain how people ‘work’ and think based on some of the mathematical methods we might use to analyse data. Can we understand the brain in terms of some of the things we’ve discovered in engineering? Is that how the brain works? Can we tease apart the processes that go on?

What practical benefits might we see from the kind of work you do?

There are a lot of obvious health benefits. You’re trying to understand how we measure and follow diseases like Alzheimer’s and stroke. Can we understand how to treat and prevent them? There’s also the slightly more philosophical question of can we understand how the mind works? If we know how it works we know how it can go wrong.

What kind of person would you encourage to do this kind of job?

You have to enjoy your subject. I quite liked the maths but I was also quite practical and liked Lego and things like that. I could take the maths and explain it to someone who wasn’t a mathematician (like a doctor) and make that link.

The desire to solve problems and a keenness to tackle something and come up with a solution matters a lot.

What’s the best thing about what you do?

There’s a great sense of satisfaction when you’ve discovered something new.

What do you think you’ll be doing in 10 years time?

I’m going to stay in the university as I enjoy the research I’m doing…I want to carry on doing that. I suspect I’ll end up combining research with teaching.

Michael is a NOISEmaker. Find out more at www.noisemakers.org.uk.

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