His research uses low temperature quantum mechanics to transiently make stable isotope labelled metabolites highly visible to magnetic resonance techniques like NMR spectroscopy and MRI. By injecting labelled metabolites into living systems it is possible to observe their subsequent spatial, temporal, and biochemical behaviour, all three of which are altered in different states of health and disease. The technique in question, known as Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation (DNP) overcomes the fundamental thermodynamic limitations of conventional magnetic resonance, and essentially forms a birth of a new medical imaging technique. While conventional MRI can non-invasively provide vast quantities of anatomical information, linking this with the molecular biology of the cell is highly challenging. DNP provides direct evidence of the rate of specific chemical reactions in tissues, non-invasively and in a rapid period of time. As well as providing information that is of interest to basic biochemical research, it has great potential to diagnose conditions such as cancer and ischaemic heart disease, and monitor their response their response to therapy.

[1] J. J. Miller, A. Z. Lau, P. M. Nielsen, G. McMullen-Klein, A. J. M. Lewis, N. R. Jespersen, V. Ball, F. A Gallagher, C. A. Carr, C. Laustsen, H. E. Bøtker, D. J. Tyler, and M. A. Schroeder, "Hyperpolarized [1,4-¹³C₂]Fumarate Enables Magnetic Resonance-Based Imaging of Myocardial Necrosis", Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging (2017, in press)

[2] J. J. Miller, A. Z. Lau, and D. J. Tyler, “Susceptibility‐induced distortion correction in hyperpolarized echo planar imaging,” Magn. Reson. Med., 2017.

[3] A. J. M. Lewis, J. J. J. Miller, C. McCallum, O. J. Rider, S. Neubauer, L. C. Heather, and D. J. Tyler, “Assessment of Metformin Induced Changes in Cardiac and Hepatic Redox State Using Hyperpolarized[1-13C]Pyruvate,” Diabetes, p. db160804, Aug. 2016.

Further publications can be found on his Google Scholar page, and personal homepage.