Dr Rebecca Williams

Biography

Rebecca completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at The University of Queensland. Her Ph.D. work investigated a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique for measuring human brain function. She then completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Calgary in Canada, investigating how different fMRI techniques can inform brain function and physiology. She was a Lecturer in Psychology at Charles Darwin University before starting at UNE in 2024.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)

Graduate Diploma in Magnetic Resonance Technology

Ph.D. in the Field of Neuroscience

Teaching Areas

Neurobiology of Anxiety

Research Methods for Neuroscience

Mapping the human brain with MRI

Primary Research Area/s

Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Structural magnetic resonance imaging; Cognition and memory; Brain ageing; Brain physiology; Anxiety and depression; Stroke; Mild Cognitive Impairment

Research Interests

Using MRI to investigate healthy and pathological brain ageing

Publications

Addeh, A., Williams, R.J., Golestani, A., Pike, G.B. & MacDonald, M.E. Physiological Confounds in BOLD-fMRI and their Correction (2025). NMR in Biomedicine. In Press.

Coleman, S.L., Sharpley, C.F., Vessey, K.A., Evans, I.D., Williams, R.J. &Bitsika, V. (2025). Gamma oscillations as correlates of depression: updating Fitzgerald and Watson (2018). Reviews in the Neurosciences, https://doi.org/10.1515/revneuro-2025-00.

Addeh, A., Vega, F., Williams, R.J., Pike, G.B. & MacDonald, M.E. (2025). Machine Learning-based Estimation of Respiratory Fluctuations in a Healthy Adult Population using resting state BOLD fMRI and Head Motion Parameters. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.30330

Pearson, M.J., Wagstaff, R. & Williams, R.J. (2024). Choroid plexus volumes and auditory verbal learning scores are associated with conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease. Brain and Behavior, 14(7): e3611. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.3611

Berger, L., Burles, F., Jaswal, T., Williams, R.J. & Iaria, G. (2024). Modern magnetic resonance imaging modalities to advance neuroimaging in astronauts. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 95(5):245-253. doi: 10.3357/AMHP.6395.2024

Williams, R.J., Specht, J.L., Mazerolle, E.L., Lebel, R.M., MacDonald, M.E. & Pike, G.B. (2023). Correspondence between BOLD fMRI task response and cerebrovascular reactivity across the cerebral cortex. Frontiers in Physiology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1167148

Addeh, A., Vega, F., Medi, P.R., Williams, R.J., Pike, G.B. & MacDonald, M.E. (2023). Direct machine learning reconstruction of respiratory variation waveforms from resting state fMRI data in a pediatric population. NeuroImage, 269: 119904. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119904

Williams, R.J., Brown, E.C., Clark, D.L., Pike, G.B. & Ramasubbu, R. (2021). Early post-treatment BOLD responses to emotion processing associated with clinical response to pharmacological treatment in Major Depressive Disorder. Brain and Behavior, 11(8): e2287. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2287

MacDonald, M.E., Williams, R.J., Rajashekar, D., Stafford, R.B., Hanganu, A., Sun, H., Berman, A.J.L., McCreary, C.M., Frayne, R., Forkert, N.D., & Pike, G.B. (2020). Effect of aging on cerebral blood flow and cortical thickness: with application to predictive modelling. Neurobiology of Aging, 95: 131-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.06.019

Williams, R.J., Goodyear, B.G., Peca, S., McCreary, C.R., Frayne, R., Smith, E.E. & Pike, G.B. (2017). Identification of neurovascular changes associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy from subject-specific hemodynamic response functions. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 37(10):3433-3445. doi:10.1177/0271678X17691056.

Memberships

International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

Organization for Human Brain Mapping

External Profiles

• ORCid Profile