APPLYING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO MEDICAL IMAGING FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE DETECTION
Parmida Ghorbanian, PhD Candidate,
University of Western Australia & Advanced Clinical and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging,
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research,
Western Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Australia | July 2026
Parmida is a software engineer and biomedical scientist whose research focuses on translating novel medical imaging technologies into clinical practice to improve the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.
Her current work applies advanced deep learning techniques to retinal polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) imaging, aiming to generate clinically meaningful biomarkers and predictions of cardiovascular disease. Parmida’s collaboration partners include Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch, Western Australia.
She is the recipient of the Novel Heart Disease Imaging Through AI HDR Scholarship and has received multiple awards for her research, including the WACRA Heart-to-Vessel Showcase Award, the South Metropolitan Health Service 3-Minute Project Competition, and the Data Institute Postgraduate Student Researcher Pitch Winner award.
Most recently, she was selected as a finalist in the INCITE Awards, Western Australia’s premier technology innovation awards program.
Source: Supplied and adapted
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Corneal and Ocular Surface Immunology and Regeneration
Assoc Professor Holly Chinnery’s career in ocular immunology began with a focus on animal models; however, it has recently transitioned into clinical imaging studies involving human research participants. The ability to visualise the immune system and sensory nerves in the human cornea represents a significant advantage in corneal immunology and neuroimmunology research.
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Visceral pain and the gut-brain axis
Professor Stuart Brierley is Director of the Visceral Pain Research Group, Director of the Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology, and Theme co-Leader of Lifelong Health at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
Prof Brierley is an international expert on the ‘gut-brain axis’ and chronic visceral pain mechanisms. Current investigations are on a individual cell type called the enterochromaffin cell, and it helps signal pain and anxiety from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain.
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Systems genetics to determine risk of developing diabetes complications
Professor Morahan invented the term “Systems Genetics” for the science field that examines how genetic variants can affect whole networks of genes and whole systems; there are now several laboratories and institutes of systems genetics around the world. He also developed the next-generation genetic resource, The Gene Mine, the most powerful of its type in the world, used globally in rapid mapping and identification of genes. Collaborators nationally and internationally have tested The Gene Mine for traits and diseases in which they specialise.
