Plenary Speaker

Dr Claire Walsh is an Associate Professor at University College London and Director of the Human Organ Atlas Hub, where she co-leads and internationally recognised research team at the intersection of advanced imaging, computation, and human biology. Her work focuses on developing and applying multi-modal and multiscale imaging technologies to map intact human organs, enabling new insights into structure–function relationships in health and disease.

Dr Walsh plays a central role in the development of Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography (HiP-CT), co-leading efforts with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to use this imaging technique build the world’s highest-resolution Human Organ Atlas. Her research spans multiple organs, with particular emphasis on the human brain and kidney where she works to integrate X-ray imaging, MRI, microscopy. Her image analysis work focuses on application and development of datasets and machine learning frameworks to segment and analyse multi-scale 3D biological structures.

In addition to her research leadership, Dr Walsh is deeply engaged in building collaborative research infrastructure. She co-directs large interdisciplinary teams, mentors early-career researchers, and works closely with academic, clinical, and industrial partners to expand access to high-performance computing and open-science resources. She sits on multiple executive and advisory boards, including the Diamond light-Source and Brain CONNECTS steering committee.