Rate My Professor Kiran Thapaliya

Dr Kiran Thapaliya is a Research Fellow at the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED), Griffith Health, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus. His research employs advanced neuroimaging methods, including 7T MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and functional MRI, to examine brain structural, microstructural, and neurochemical changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID patients. Located at G40 9.19, Ian O'Connor Building, he serves as a member of the Disability and Rehabilitation group from 2019 to 2024 and holds an Honorary Research Fellow position.

Thapaliya is lead or corresponding author on numerous high-impact publications. Notable works include 'Brainstem volume changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID patients' (NeuroImage: Clinical, 2023), revealing enlarged brainstem volumes; 'Diffusion tensor imaging reveals neuronal microstructural reorganisation in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome' (Human Brain Mapping, 2022), identifying altered white matter microstructure; 'Imbalanced Brain Neurochemicals in Long COVID and ME/CFS: A Preliminary Study Using MRI' (The American Journal of Medicine, 2025), showing elevated choline levels; 'Hippocampal subfield volume alterations and associations with severity measures in long COVID and ME/CFS: A 7T MRI study' (PLOS ONE, 2025); and 'Altered brain tissue microstructure and neurochemical profiles in long COVID' (NeuroImage: Clinical, 2025). His studies demonstrate overlaps such as salience-default mode network dysconnectivity, hippocampal alterations, and neurochemical imbalances, garnering citations exceeding 400 and media coverage including ABC News on brain swelling in long COVID. As Chief Investigator B on a $438,000 grant for ME/CFS progression research (2024), alongside collaborators like Associate Professor Leighton Barnden, Thapaliya advances neuroimmunology, contributing to diagnostic insights and funded projects at Menzies Health Institute Queensland.