Principal Investigator
B.Sc. [Physics (major), German (minor)] (University of British Columbia),
M.Sc. [Physics] (University of British Columbia),
Ph.D. [Physics] (University of British Columbia),
Professor, Department of Radiology and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia,
Associate Member, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia
Vice Chair, Research | Radiology
Associate Director, Education & Training | ICORD
Director, UBC MRI Research Centre
Research Interests
Brain; Histology; MRI; Myelin; Neurodegeneration; pathology; Spinal cordDr. Cornelia (Corree) Laule is a physicist and has been involved with nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research for over 25 years. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Wayne Moore in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine where her research focused on MRI pathology correlation studies in multiple sclerosis brain tissue. She is now a Professor, Vice Chair of Research, Radiology, Associate Director of Education & Training, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, and Director of the UBC MRI Research Centre. Dr. Laule leads an interdisciplinary research program focused on in vivo and post-mortem MRI in multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury which spans MRI technical innovations, validation, and clinical translation. She is interested in understanding the microstructural and pathological determinants which contribute to MRI signal changes in central nervous system tissue. She is particularly interested in myelin and how variations in myelin composition/structure may influence MRI measures. Dr. Laule is also passionate about education, science communication and leads initiatives to increase equity, diversity and inclusion in STEM, emphasizing women and Indigenous peoples. She is the co-founder of seed2STEM, which provides Indigenous high school students paid internships in UBC-Vancouver and UBC-Okanagan research labs.
Major Findings:
Dr. Laule’s quantitative MRI-pathology correlations validated myelin water imaging as a marker for myelin when her histopathological studies revealed a strong correlation between the MR and histopathological measures of myelin.
In one of the few studies examining myelin water serially in the human spinal cord, Dr. Laule’s research showed that people with primary progressive MS showed a 10% decrease in myelin over two years, while the controls remained stable. This suggests that progressive demyelination occurs and myelin water may help follow the pathological processes that contribute to clinical disability in progressive multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Laule’s studies of diffusely abnormal white matter reveal evidence of a primary lipid abnormality with little protein involvement. This raises the possibility of a primary role for lipid in the autoimmune or degenerative etiopathogenesis of MS, studies of which up to now have largely focused on myelin protein immunology and biology. Thus, examining the tissue changes underlying DAWM may identify substrates responsible for disability and progression, which could be a target for future therapies.
For some of her major findings, please see the selected papers below, as well as her recent publications listed at the bottom of the page:
- Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of the Injured Spinal Cord: A Comparative Study of Imaging and Histology in Human Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
- Myelin biomarkers in the healthy adult brain: Correlation, reproducibility, and the effect of fiber orientation
- Serum neurofilament light chain correlates with myelin and axonal magnetic resonance imaging markers in multiple sclerosis
- Myelin Water Imaging Demonstrates Lower Brain Myelination in Children and Adolescents With Poor Reading Ability
- Myelin Water Fraction and Intra/Extracellular Water Geometric Mean T2 Normative Atlases for the Cervical Spinal Cord from 3T MRI
- Cervical Cord Abnormalities in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Atrophy and Myelin Water Changes
Techniques Employed in the Lab:
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
- Histology
- In vivo and post-mortem imaging of brain and spinal cord
Affiliation with organizations and societies:
- International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM)
- Canadian Institute for Health Research Scientific Officer (CIHR)
- North American Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis Executive (NAIMS)
Awards
Some of Dr. Laule’s major awards and accomplishments include:
- City of Vancouver Leadership in Reconciliation Award (2025)
- Dana Devine Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (2025)
- Mentorship Award, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine UBC (2024)
- Killam Teaching Prize (2024)
- UBC Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Mentor Award (2024)
- UBC Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Overall Excellence (mid-career) (2022)
- UBC Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Education (2017)
- Transitional Career Development Award (Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, 2010-2015)
Current Lab Members
| Undergraduate Students | Medical Student | Ph.D. Students | Research Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winston Tao | Noah Marini | Tigris Joseph | Dr. Farah Samadi |
| Kyle Vavasour | Alex Ensworth | Dr. Irene Vavasour | |
| Rayne Charoenpojvajana | Nikolai Lesack | JC Rong | |
| Kate Richardson | |||
| Dr. Erin MacMillan |
Trainee Awards
| Year | Name | Award |
| 2025 | Nikolai Lesack | ICORD Annual Research Meeting PhD Poster Award – 2nd place, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine |
| Alex Ensworth |
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| Noah Marini |
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| Tigris Joseph |
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| 2024 | Tigris Joseph | Trainee Travel Award, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries |
| Kyle Vavasour | Summer Program Advancing Research Knowledge & Skills (SPARKS) Award, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute | |
| Alex Ensworth |
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| Nikolai Lesack |
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| Noah Marini |
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| 2021 | Jackie Yik |
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| Tigris Joseph | MSc Studentship Award, MS Society of Canada | |
| Sarah Morris |
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| 2020 | Sarah Morris |
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| Liz Dao | Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research | |
| 2019 | Kevin Liu | PhD Studentship Award, MS Society of Canada |
| Carina Graf | Student Stipend from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine | |
| Leo Sporn | Student Stipend from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine | |
| Jackie Yik | Student Stipend from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine | |
| Sarah Morris |
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| 2018 | Sarah Morris | Travel, Accommodation, and Registration (endMS Summer School) |
| Carina Graf | Travel, Accommodation, and Registration Award (endMS Summer School) | |
| Kevin Liu |
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| Sarah Morris | New Entrant Stipend (International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine) | |
| James Cairns | Travel Award (UBC MS Connect Education Program & Christopher Foundation) | |
| Carina Graf |
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| Kevin Liu |
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| 2017 | Carina Graf |
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| Kevin Liu |
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| Carina Graf |
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| 2016 | Carina Graf | ICORD VISIT Trainee Award (ICORD) |
| Kevin Liu |
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Current Opportunities In the Lab
While the lab has no specific openings, if trainees are interested in opportunities related to her area of research please contact Dr. Laule with inquiries. She also accepts undergraduate directed studies students and volunteers. She is always open to new collaborations and would be happy to speak with you about potential future joint projects.
Recent publications
- Joseph, TS et al.. 2025. Correlations of myelin, axon, and inflammation metrics from multi echo T2 relaxation and multi-shell diffusion imaging in multiple sclerosis and healthy controls.. Mult Scler Relat Disord. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2025.106696.
- Barkhof, F et al.. 2025. 2024 MAGNIMS-CMSC-NAIMS consensus recommendations on the use of MRI for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.. Lancet Neurol. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(25)00304-7.
- Labounek, R et al.. 2025. Body size and intracranial volume interact with the structure of the central nervous system: A multi-center in vivo neuroimaging study.. Imaging Neurosci (Camb). doi: 10.1162/imag_a_00559.
- Balaji, S et al.. 2025. Microstructure-informed brain tissue classification using clustering of quantitative MRI measures.. Imaging Neurosci (Camb). doi: 10.1162/imag_a_00526.
- Frese, K et al.. 2025. A broad range of antiphospholipid IgM are elevated across different multiple sclerosis clinical phenotypes.. J Clin Neurosci. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2025.111493.
