Shivaram Avula graduated from The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, India in 1995. He obtained his postgraduate Paediatric degree (MRCPCH, London) in 2001 and Radiology degree (FRCR, London) in 2005.
He completed his paediatric radiology and neuroradiology fellowships at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool and Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. He was appointed as a Consultant Radiologist at Alder Hey in 2009. Shivaram has a special interest in paediatric neuroimaging, and in particular, imaging of paediatric brain tumours. Shivaram has been the lead radiologist in developing the intraoperative MRI service for brain tumour surgery and has published and presented extensively in this area. His research on intraoperative MRI has been influential in the development of international brain tumour imaging protocol for research studies and clinical practice.
Shivaram has been the Chair of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology–Europe (SIOP-E BTG) Brain Tumour Imaging group (201-19). He is a central reviewer for multiple international brain tumour trials including, LOGGIC- Firefly-2 study, SIOP-Europe PNET V, High risk medulloblastoma and SIOPE II ependymoma studies. As a member of the UK Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), he is actively involved in coordinating and participating in the central radiology review panel for the UK paediatric neuro-oncology studies. He is the secretary of the Posterior fossa society, an international scientific group working on postoperative cerebellar mutism.
Shivaram has a research interest in Advanced MRI for brain tumours. He is an honorary clinical associate professor at the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Liverpool. He is the chief investigator for MR Bubbles, a novel study evaluating microbubble contrast perfusion in an MRI setting. He has a research interest in novel image processing in brain tumours. This includes quantitative analysis of brain injury following radiotherapy and automated brain tumour analysis. His collaborative work with the University of Surrey on mathematical analysis in postoperative cerebellar mutism has been incorporated into the largest European cerebellar mutism study. He has published multiple scientific papers in this area, including new hypothesis on its pathophysiology.