Dr Michael Stringer
- MVLS Futures Fellow (Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3811-4439Biography
I am an MVLS Futures Fellow in the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health. My current work focuses on improving the accuracy and sensitivity of in vivo measurements of vascular dysfunction, and applying them across several studies on patients with small vessel disease, which causes many strokes and dementias. Originally from a mathematics background (BSc (Hons) Glasgow, MSc Heriot-Watt), I previously completed a PhD in medical imaging at the University of Aberdeen in 2016.
Research interests
Research Theme: Vascular Diseases and Comorbidities
Developing and using quantitative MRI methods to assess haemodynamic and metabolic properties in patients is my main research focus. Working closely with clinicians, I have played a leading role in several multicentre imaging studies (e.g. H2020 funded SVDs@Target, Leducq Network for Research Excellence on perivascular spaces), including clinical trials (LACI-1 and Treat-SVDs), cross-sectional (Sleep Apnea and Investigate-SVDs) and longitudinal studies (Mild Stroke Study 3).
My research covers three main strands:
- Methodological development
- Clinical studies in stroke and small vessel disease
- Improving translational imaging:
Publications
2026
Ridge, Keelin N., Wardlaw, Joanna M., Thrippleton, Michael and Stringer, Michael 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3811-4439
(2026)
Cerebrovascular reactivity delay measured by blood oxygen level dependent magnetic resonance imaging and gas challenges: a systematic review.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism,
(doi: 10.1177/0271678X261473390)
(PMID:42477900)
(Early Online Publication)
Stringer, M. S. et al. (2026) Gadolinium- and water-based blood-brain barrier dysfunction measures in patients with sporadic small vessel disease. Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior, 10, 100528. (doi: 10.1016/j.cccb.2026.100528)
2025
Stringer, M. S. et al. (2025) Cerebrovascular function in sporadic and genetic cerebral small vessel disease. Annals of Neurology, 97(3), pp. 483-498. (doi: 10.1002/ana.27136) (PMID:39552538) (PMCID:PMC11831873)
2023
Kopczak, A. et al. (2023) Effect of blood pressure-lowering agents on microvascular function in people with small vessel diseases (TREAT-SVDs): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, crossover trial. Lancet Neurology, 22(11), pp. 991-1004. (doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(23)00293-4) (PMID:37863608)
Sennfält, Stefan, Thrippleton, Michael J., Stringer, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3811-4439, Arteaga Reyes, Carmen, Chappell, Francesca, Doubal, Fergus, Garcia, Daniela J., Zhang, Junfang, Cheng, Yajun and Wardlaw, Joanna
(2023)
Visualising and semi-quantitatively measuring brain fluid pathways, including meningeal lymphatics, in humans using widely available MRI techniques.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 43(10),
pp. 1779-1795.
37254892.
(doi: 10.1177/0271678X231179555)
(PMID:PMC1058123)
Articles
Ridge, Keelin N., Wardlaw, Joanna M., Thrippleton, Michael and Stringer, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3811-4439
(2026)
Cerebrovascular reactivity delay measured by blood oxygen level dependent magnetic resonance imaging and gas challenges: a systematic review.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism,
(doi: 10.1177/0271678X261473390)
(PMID:42477900)
(Early Online Publication)
Stringer, M. S. et al. (2026) Gadolinium- and water-based blood-brain barrier dysfunction measures in patients with sporadic small vessel disease. Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior, 10, 100528. (doi: 10.1016/j.cccb.2026.100528)
Stringer, M. S. et al. (2025) Cerebrovascular function in sporadic and genetic cerebral small vessel disease. Annals of Neurology, 97(3), pp. 483-498. (doi: 10.1002/ana.27136) (PMID:39552538) (PMCID:PMC11831873)
Kopczak, A. et al. (2023) Effect of blood pressure-lowering agents on microvascular function in people with small vessel diseases (TREAT-SVDs): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, crossover trial. Lancet Neurology, 22(11), pp. 991-1004. (doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(23)00293-4) (PMID:37863608)
Sennfält, Stefan, Thrippleton, Michael J., Stringer, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3811-4439, Arteaga Reyes, Carmen, Chappell, Francesca, Doubal, Fergus, Garcia, Daniela J., Zhang, Junfang, Cheng, Yajun and Wardlaw, Joanna
(2023)
Visualising and semi-quantitatively measuring brain fluid pathways, including meningeal lymphatics, in humans using widely available MRI techniques.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 43(10),
pp. 1779-1795.
37254892.
(doi: 10.1177/0271678X231179555)
(PMID:PMC1058123)
Prior publications
Article
Samuel Gibbon et al. (2026) Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography-Angiography and Longitudinal Changes in Cognition and Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Neurology Crossref. (doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000218502)
Carmen Arteaga-Reyes et al. (2026) Long-Term Imaging and Clinical Outcomes After Recent Small Subcortical Infarct Neurology Open Access Crossref. (doi: 10.1212/WN9.0000000000000108)
Yu-Yuan Xu et al. (2026) Quantitative Relationship Between White Matter Hyperintensity Volume and Fazekas Score on Brain MRI Stroke Crossref. (doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.125.055101)
Fei Han et al. (2026) Implications of Cranial Arterial Stenosis and Dolichoectasia for Cerebral Small-Vessel Disease Etiopathogenesis: Findings From a Prospective Mild Stroke Cohort Circulation Crossref. (doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.126.079493)
Fei Han et al. (2026) Large artery phenotypes, cerebrovascular function, and progression of cerebral small vessel disease Crossref. (doi: 10.64898/2026.05.23.26344314)
Thomas Zhang et al. (2026) Stroke, Small‐Vessel Disease, and Occupation: Systematic Review and Data Analysis Journal of the American Heart Association Crossref. (doi: 10.1161/JAHA.124.039035)
Stanley DT Pham et al. (2026) Small vessel dysfunction at 7T MRI locally predicts white matter damage progression in CADASIL Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism Crossref. (doi: 10.1177/0271678X251369257)
Fei Han et al. (2026) Implications of cranial arterial stenosis and dolichoectasia for cerebral small vessel disease etiopathogenesis: findings from a prospective mild stroke cohort Crossref. (doi: 10.64898/2026.01.26.26344896)
Gordon W Blair et al. (2025) Retinal vascular reactivity is associated with white matter hyperintensities and dysfunctional cerebrovascular reactivity in cerebral small vessel disease Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism Crossref. (doi: 10.1177/0271678X251366079)
Alasdair G. Morgan et al. (2025) Arterial, Venous, and Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow and Pulsatility in Stroke-Related Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: A Longitudinal Analysis Stroke Crossref. (doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.124.049103)
Dillys Xiaodi Liu et al. (2025) Association of Self-Reported Sleep Metrics With Imaging Markers of Small Vessel Disease and Cognition in Patients With TIA or Mild Stroke Neurology Crossref. (doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000213734)
Yajun Cheng et al. (2025) Clinical Relevance of ‘Cap’ and ‘Track’ Development after Recent Small Subcortical Infarct Annals of Neurology Crossref. (doi: 10.1002/ana.27182)
Ylenia Giarratano et al. (2025) Retinal microvascular phenotypes can track small vessel disease burden and CPAP treatment effectiveness in obstructive sleep apnea Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism Crossref. (doi: 10.1177/0271678X241291958)
Paulien H.M. Voorter et al. (2025) Heterogeneity and Penumbra of White Matter Hyperintensities in Small Vessel Diseases Determined by Quantitative MRI Stroke Crossref. (doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.124.047910)
Emilie Sleight et al. (2024) Association of Cerebrovascular Reactivity With 1-Year Imaging and Clinical Outcomes in Small Vessel Disease Neurology Crossref. (doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000210008)
Yu-Yuan Xu et al. (2024) Prevalence and Clinical Implications of Hemosiderin Deposits in Recent Small Subcortical Infarcts Neurology Crossref. (doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000209973)
Jochems ACC et al. (2024) Definitions of white matter hyperintensity change: impact on estimates of progression and regression. Stroke and vascular neurology Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1136/svn-2024-003300)
Jochems ACC et al. (2024) Magnetic Resonance Imaging Tissue Signatures Associated With White Matter Changes Due to Sporadic Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Indicate That White Matter Hyperintensities Can Regress. Journal of the American Heart Association Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1161/jaha.123.032259)
Valdés Hernández MDC et al. (2023) Influence of threshold selection and image sequence in in-vivo segmentation of enlarged perivascular spaces. Journal of neuroscience methods Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2023.110037)
Salvatore Rudilosso et al. (2023) Blood-brain barrier leakage hotspots collocating with brain lesions due to sporadic and monogenic small vessel disease Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism Crossref. (doi: 10.1177/0271678X231173444)
Sáenz de Villaverde Cortabarría A et al. (2023) Paranasal sinuses opacification on magnetic resonance imaging in relation to brain health in sporadic small vessel disease - Systematic review and pilot analysis. Journal of the neurological sciences Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2023.120735)
Alasdair G. Morgan, Michael J. Thrippleton, Michael Stringer, Ning Jin, Joanna M. Wardlaw, Ian Marshall (2023) Repeatability and comparison of 2D and 4D flow MRI measurement of intracranial blood flow and pulsatility in healthy individuals and patients with cerebral small vessel disease Frontiers in Psychology Michael S Stringer. ISSN 1664-1078 (doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1125038)
Anna Kopczak et al. (2023) The EffecTs of Amlodipine and other Blood PREssure Lowering Agents on Microvascular FuncTion in Small Vessel Diseases (TREAT-SVDs) trial: Study protocol for a randomised crossover trial European Stroke Journal Crossref. (doi: 10.1177/23969873221143570)
Sleight E, Stringer MS, Mitchell I, Murphy M, Marshall I, Wardlaw JM, Thrippleton MJ (2023) Cerebrovascular reactivity measurements using 3T BOLD MRI and a fixed inhaled CO2 gas challenge: Repeatability and impact of processing strategy. Frontiers in physiology Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1070233)
Stewart J Wiseman et al. (2023) Retinal capillary microvessel morphology changes are associated with vascular damage and dysfunction in cerebral small vessel disease Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism Crossref. (doi: 10.1177/0271678X221135658)
van den Brink H et al. (2022) CADASIL affects multiple aspects of cerebral small vessel function on 7T-MRI. Annals of neurology Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1002/ana.26527)
Li BM et al. (2022) Deep attention super-resolution of brain magnetic resonance images acquired under clinical protocols. Frontiers in computational neuroscience Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.3389/fncom.2022.887633)
Barnes A et al. (2022) Topological relationships between perivascular spaces and progression of white matter hyperintensities: A pilot study in a sample of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Frontiers in neurology Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.889884)
Lee H, Ozturk B, Stringer MS, Koundal S, MacIntosh BJ, Rothman D, Benveniste H (2022) Choroid plexus tissue perfusion and blood to CSF barrier function in rats measured with continuous arterial spin labeling. NeuroImage Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119512)
Salvatore Rudilosso et al. (2022) Prevalence and Significance of the Vessel-Cluster Sign on Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging in Patients With Severe Small Vessel Disease Neurology Crossref. (doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200614)
Lee H, Ozturk B, Stringer MS, MacIntosh BJ, Rothman D, Benveniste H (2022) Choroid plexus tissue perfusion and secretory function in rats measured by non-invasive MRI reveal significant effects of anesthesia Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1101/2022.03.09.483707)
Quick S et al. (2021) An intrinsic endothelial dysfunction causes cerebral small vessel disease Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1101/2021.12.13.472377)
Blair GW et al. (2021) Effects of Cilostazol and Isosorbide Mononitrate on Cerebral Hemodynamics in the LACI-1 Randomized Controlled Trial. Stroke Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1161/strokeaha.121.034866)
Stringer MS, Heye AK, Armitage PA, Chappell F, Valdés Hernández MDC, Makin SDJ, Sakka E, Thrippleton MJ, Wardlaw JM (2021) Tracer kinetic assessment of blood-brain barrier leakage and blood volume in cerebral small vessel disease: Associations with disease burden and vascular risk factors. NeuroImage. Clinical Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102883)
(2021) A Comparison of CVR Magnitude and Delay Assessed at 1.5 and 3T in Patients With Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Frontiers in Physiology Michael S Stringer. ISSN 1664-042X (doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.644837)
Blair GW et al. (2021) Imaging neurovascular, endothelial and structural integrity in preparation to treat small vessel diseases. The INVESTIGATE-SVDs study protocol. Part of the SVDs@Target project. Cerebral circulation - cognition and behavior Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1016/j.cccb.2021.100020)
Zhang JF et al. (2021) Relationship between inferior frontal sulcal hyperintensities on brain MRI, ageing and cerebral small vessel disease. Neurobiology of aging Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.06.013)
Stewart CR, Stringer MS, Shi Y, Thrippleton MJ, Wardlaw JM (2021) Associations Between White Matter Hyperintensity Burden, Cerebral Blood Flow and Transit Time in Small Vessel Disease: An Updated Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in neurology Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.647848)
Manning C et al. (2021) Sources of systematic error in DCE-MRI estimation of low-level blood-brain barrier leakage. Magnetic resonance in medicine Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1002/mrm.28833)
Sleight E, Stringer MS, Marshall I, Wardlaw JM, Thrippleton MJ (2021) Cerebrovascular Reactivity Measurement Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in physiology Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.643468)
Hilde van den Brink et al. (2021) Zooming in on cerebral small vessel function in small vessel diseases with 7T MRI: Rationale and design of the “ZOOM@SVDs” study Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior Crossref. (doi: 10.1016/j.cccb.2021.100013)
Stringer MS et al. (2020) A Review of Translational Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Human and Rodent Experimental Models of Small Vessel Disease. Translational stroke research Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1007/s12975-020-00843-8)
Blair GW et al. (2020) Intracranial hemodynamic relationships in patients with cerebral small vessel disease. Neurology Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000009483)
Blair GW et al. (2019) Tolerability, safety and intermediary pharmacological effects of cilostazol and isosorbide mononitrate, alone and combined, in patients with lacunar ischaemic stroke: The LACunar Intervention-1 (LACI-1) trial, a randomised clinical trial. EClinicalMedicine Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.04.001)
Blair GW et al. (2017) Preventing cognitive decline and dementia from cerebral small vessel disease: The LACI-1 Trial. Protocol and statistical analysis plan of a phase IIa dose escalation trial testing tolerability, safety and effect on intermediary endpoints of isosorbide mononitrate and cilostazol, separately and in combination. International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1177/1747493017731947)
Other
Abbie Barnes et al. (2021) Topological relationships between perivascular spaces and progression of white matter hyperintensities: a pilot study in a sample of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Crossref. (doi: 10.1101/2021.09.18.21263770)
Blair GW et al. (2019) Intracranial functional haemodynamic relationships in patients with cerebral small vessel disease Europe PubMed Central. (doi: 10.1101/572818)
Book Section
Jose Bernal et al. (2021) Selective Motion Artefact Reduction via Radiomics and k-space Reconstruction for Improving Perivascular Space Quantification in Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Crossref. (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-80432-9_12)
Michael S Stringer (2020) A Framework for Jointly Assessing and Reducing Imaging Artefacts Automatically Using Texture Analysis and Total Variation Optimisation for Improving Perivascular Spaces Quantification in Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Communications in Computer and Information Science Michael S Stringer. ISBN 9783030527914 ISSN 1865-0937 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-52791-4_14)
Supervision
I am a PhD supervisor for Keelin Ridge (Keelin Ridge | The University of Edinburgh) and Grant Kirkwood (Grant Kirkwood | The University of Edinburgh), both entering 3rd year.
I was a co-supervisor for Emily Sleight (now a postdoc at EPFL) on the project "Advanced signal processing and MRI to assess cerebrovascular health in small vessel disease and dementia" which implemented and assessed novel approaches for calculating cerebrovascular reactivity using MRI.
