Ryan O'Hare Doig

The conversation around spinal cord injury (SCI) usually centres on how difficult it is to give much-needed information about the likelihood of recovery to patients and their families. Clinicians are frequently asked “will I walk again?” but the best scientific answer on offer is “I don’t know”. To date, there is no central diagnostic test. Ryan's goal is to change change that.

Ryan O’Hare Doig is a Scottish born and Australian bred Neurobiologist, who received his PhD in Neuroscience and Physiology in 2018 from the University of Western Australia. Ryan's lab has developed advanced functional and molecular imaging techniques and protocols to provide a 'live-feed' of the injured spinal cord by accurately mapping biomarkers of spinal cord pathology and quantifying dysfunction following acute and chronic SCI. Their research goal is to develop a functional and molecular clinical imaging pipeline that will change how we diagnose and treat SCI, and ultimately lead to the improved quality of life of SCI individuals and their families.

Despite only being an Early Career Researcher, Ryan is a distinguished and highly respected emerging leader in the field of SCI and molecular imaging of the nervous system, evidenced by his National Neurotrauma Society (USA) Certificate of Excellence and appointment to the international AOSpine SCI Faculty, as one of 25 members worldwide and the only Australian representative.

Outside of the lab, Ryan is a recent first home owner, dog lover, and hopeless golf enthusiast. So, he often spends most of his minimal spare time in the shed on the golf simulator (instead of renovating) and collecting the mail each time a neighbourhood dog walks by.