Dr. Kiran Thapaliya serves as a Research Fellow at the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) within Griffith Health at Griffith University. He holds a PhD from The University of Queensland, Australia. His research focuses on neuroimaging, utilizing advanced techniques such as 7 Tesla MRI to examine brain abnormalities in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID patients. Thapaliya's investigations have revealed significant findings, including larger brainstem volumes, hippocampal subfield enlargements, altered cortical volumes and thicknesses, disrupted white matter microstructure, and imbalanced neurochemical profiles in affected individuals compared to healthy controls. These studies underscore striking brain similarities between ME/CFS and long COVID, contributing to the understanding of neurological impacts.
Thapaliya has progressed through academic positions including Postdoctoral Researcher at Griffith Health and Honorary Research Fellow. He was a member of the Disability & Rehabilitation group at Griffith University from 2019 to 2024. His prolific publication record includes over 30 research works with more than 400 citations. Key papers feature 'Hippocampal subfield volume alterations and associations with severity measures in long COVID and ME/CFS: A 7T MRI study' (PLOS ONE, 2025), 'Imbalanced Brain Neurochemicals in long COVID and ME/CFS: A Preliminary Study using MRI' (American Journal of Medicine, 2025), 'Brainstem volume changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID patients' (Journal of Translational Medicine, 2023), 'Diffusion tensor imaging reveals neuronal microstructural reorganisation in whole-brain white matter in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome' (NMR in Biomedicine, 2021), and 'Alteration of Cortical Volume and Thickness in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome' (Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2022). Frequently serving as lead or corresponding author, his work collaborates with experts from Griffith University and the University of Queensland's Centre for Advanced Imaging, influencing neuroimmunology research. Research interests encompass magnetic susceptibility and magnetic resonance imaging.