Biography
Colin Wilson is a Lecturer in the Department of Radiology at UNM and Director of the Radiology Image Processing Laboratory (RIPL). He received his BA in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and spent several years at the NIH Imaging Probe Development Center, where he synthesized and characterized imaging agents (MRI/PET/CT/Optical) for the NIH intramural community. He completed an MA in Bioimaging at Boston University School of Medicine, which included a research thesis in clinical PET/CT under the supervision of Rathan Subramaniam, MD, PhD. He subsequently joined the research staff of the Hooker Research Group at the MGH Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, where he received training in the synthesis and evaluation of novel neurotracers while conducting neuroimaging studies in rodents, humans, and non-human primates. He later became Research Advisor for the PET/CT division of the Translational Imaging Facility at the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. His work at CNRM focused on the development of imaging protocols and multimodal image processing methods for studying preclinical models of traumatic brain injury. Since joining the Radiology faculty at UNM in 2016, he has overseen the development of a laboratory focused on image processing and 3D printing for both preclinical and clinical research. He also provides support for quantitative imaging, radiomics/AI, and clinical applications within the department.??
Areas of Specialty
Specialization #1 Medical Image Processing
Specialization #2 Molecular Imaging
Specialization #3 Translational Neuroimaging
Research
Colin Wilson’s research focuses on the application of quantitative imaging and image processing techniques for the non-invasive study of biological processes and disease in-vivo. He is particularly interested in the use of neuroimaging to probe molecular and cellular events in the brain, and the translation of these tools from small animal models to human subjects. Under the mentorship of Reed Selwyn PhD, he has utilized multimodal imaging approaches to study various conditions and diseases, ranging from mild traumatic brain injury to cancer.
Courses Taught
RADS 405: Introduction to Research and Medical Imaging
Research and Scholarship
Maphis NM, Hulse J, Peabody J, Dadras S, Whelpley MJ, Kandath M, Wilson C, Hobson S, Thompson J, Poolsup S, Beckman D, Ott SP, Watanabe JW, Usachenko JL, Van Rompay KK, Morrison J, Selwyn R, Rosenberg G, Knoefel J, Chackerian B, Bhaskar K. Targeting of phosphorylated tau at threonine 181 by a Q? virus-like particle vaccine is safe, highly immunogenic, and reduces disease severity in mice and rhesus macaques. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Mar;21(3):e70101. doi: 10.1002/alz.70101.
Divani AA, Salazar P, Ikram HA, Taylor E, Wilson CM, Yang Y, Mahmoudi J, Seletska A, SantaCruz KS, Torbey M, Liebler E, Bragina OA, Morton R, Bragin DE. Non-Invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation Improves Brain Lesion Volume and Neurobehavioral Outcomes in a Rat Model of Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2023 Mar 3. doi: 10.1089/neu.2022.0153.
Taylor EN, Wilson CM, Franco S, De May H, Medina LY, Yang Y, Flores EB, Bartee E, Selwyn RG, Serda RE. Monitoring Therapeutic Responses to Silicified Cancer Cell Immunotherapy Using PET/MRI in a Mouse Model of Disseminated Ovarian Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Sep 10;23(18):10525. doi: 10.3390/ijms231810525
McIlwrath SL, Montera MA, Gott KM, Yang Y, Wilson CM, Selwyn R, Westlund KN. Manganese-enhanced MRI reveals changes within brain anxiety and aversion circuitry in rats with chronic neuropathic pain- and anxiety-like behaviors. Neuroimage. 2020 Sep 6;223:117343. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117343.
Brocato TA, Brown-Glaberman U, Wang Z, Selwyn RG, Wilson CM, Wyckoff EF, Lomo LC, Saline JL, Hooda-Nehra A, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Brinker CJ, Cristini V. Predicting breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on tumor vascular features in needle biopsies. JCI Insight. 2019 Mar 5;5(8):e126518. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.126518.