Head of Monash CT Unit receives academic promotion

Professor Ken Lau

Head of Thoracic Imaging and the CT Unit at Monash Health, Kenneth Lau has been promoted to Clinical Professor.

With responsibility for the Monash Health CT unit, Professor Lau oversees the most advanced CT hardware and software in the field, enabling new scanning techniques and clinical applications.

Professor Lau has particular interests in all new and advanced CT and dose reduction techniques.  He has been involved in many research studies and projects, including the use of wide area detector in 4-dimensional assessment of upper and middle airways; model-based and knowledge-based iterative reconstruction in radiation dose reduction and image quality improvement; fine focal spot CT scanning; use of liver detection algorithm in enhancing low subject contrast detectability;  ECG-gated chest imaging; vascular calcifications in chronic kidney disease; and dual energy investigation of renal calculi in Thalassemia.

“In close collaboration with Professor Phil Bardin, Director of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Monash Health, our use of 4-dimensional CT in diagnosing, evaluating and monitoring laryngeal dyskinesia and expiratory functional disorders has been ground-breaking, and Monash Health is the world-leading site in this clinical area,” said Professor Lau. 

“Professor Bardin and I have also been working closely with Imperial College London in developing an aerodynamic model of airway from the CT data set.”

Professor Lau has been an invited speaker at local, national and international meetings and conferences on 35 occasions.  He has authored 57 peer-reviewed publications and presented 92 posters and 28 oral proffered scientific papers in local, national and internal conferences.  

His 11 prestigious awards and prizes include the Toshiba prize for the outstanding scientific exhibits at RANZCR ASM in 2005, 2009 and 2013, the Wiley-Blackwell best exhibit award in 2012, 2013 and 2015, the Philips prize at RANZCR ASM in 2011 for the best European abstract, and the best scientific paper presentation in the joint Royal college of Radiologists and Hong Kong college of Radiologists in 2011. 

Beyond his research and clinical work, Professor Lau lectures radiography students at Monash University, prepares chest imaging tutorials for medical students, and has successfully supervised four Masters students.

“I am very thankful to Monash Health and the Diagnostic Imaging Department for supporting my role, and at the same time I am appreciative of the excellent skill set and dedication of my radiology colleagues and the medical imaging technologists to make the CT unit one of the best in the world.”

Professor Lau also thanks Head, Department of Imaging at Monash Health and Monash University, Professor Stephen Stuckey for his ongoing guidance, support and encouragement and Head, Department of Surgery, Professor Julian Smith for his support in his academic promotion application.