In this episode of More Than Work, Rabiah sits down with Bhavana Solanky, a Senior Research Fellow and MRI Physicist at UCL's Queen Square MS Centre. Bhavana shares how a love of astrophysics — sparked by watching Armageddon as a teenager — led her to a career using physics to directly help people living with disease. She opens up about the role of MS patient involvement in shaping research, her family's deep-rooted culture of community service, and the values that guide both her science and her parenting. They also discuss AI's growing role in MRI, the challenges of raising digitally-native kids, Bhavana's unexpected new hobby of playing cricket, and her passionate commitment to inspiring the next generation of women in science.

00:00 Introduction to More Than Work

00:34 Meet Bhavana Solanky: MRI Physicist & Senior Research Fellow at UCL

01:45 What Is an MRI Physicist? The Camera Analogy Explained

03:22 15 Years at the Queen Square MS Centre: How She Got There

04:05 From Astrophysics to Medical Imaging: An Unexpected Journey

05:27 Joining UCL and Discovering the Power of MRI in MS

06:39 Rabiah Opens Up About Living with MS

08:03 Why Patient Involvement Matters in Research

10:29 AI in MRI: Reducing Noise, Boosting Accuracy & NHS Waiting Lists

17:07 Family Values: A Community-Minded Upbringing

20:27 Balancing Being a Scientist and a Mom

31:45 Learning Cricket (and Letting Her Kids Coach Her)

34:58 Women in Science: Breaking Stereotypes & Inspiring the Next Generation

39:56 Advice: Get Outside Your Comfort Zone

40:43 The Fun Five Questions

45:08 How to Connect with Bhavana

Note from Host:

I’m part of the MS Society UK’s Research Network which is a really cool opportunity to learn about upcoming research by working directly with researchers on their grant proposals, participating in focus groups and doing other things. When I met Bhavana on one of those calls, I was so curious about her because she was so “real” for a lack of a better word. And her research was so interesting, as much as I could understand it. I was so glad when she said she would join me on the pod. And what a journey she’s had really from looking at the stars to probably having seen the inside of my brain! Woah. I hope you enjoy listening and thanks for being here.

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Find Bhavana

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavana-solanky/

Email: b dot solanky at ucl dot ac dot uk

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