Meeting MI - Dr. Alexandre Boutet

#MeetingMI offers the Department of Medical Imaging the opportunity to meet the members of MI and learn about their experience in their own words.

Name: Alexandre Boutet
Pronouns: He/him
Division: Neuroradiology
Academic Rank: Assistant professor
Hospital site: TWH

1. What inspired you to pursue radiology?
My passion for neuroscience goes back to my early days in neurosurgery. When I made the transition to radiology, I quickly realized it sits at a fascinating intersection between clinical medicine and big data. As radiologists, we have a privileged, panoramic view of the most pressing needs across the hospital and that kind of breadth is something I find deeply compelling.

2. What are the most rewarding or interesting aspects of working in radiology?
Solving difficult cases is always gratifying, but what I find equally rewarding is the breadth of collaboration radiology allows. We work with nearly every specialty in the hospital, which means the conversations and the problems are always different. That variety keeps the work intellectually alive.

3. You recently received funding from the Krembil Research Institute for your research proposal, “Precision Medicine in Parkinson’s Disease: Neuroimaging Biomarkers for Individualized DBS Patient Selection.” Can you tell us about this research and how you plan to use the funds to enhance your proposal for resubmission next year?
This research involves detailed mapping of brain circuits in individual Parkinson's disease patients to identify those whose circuitry is most likely to respond to neuromodulation treatments like deep brain stimulation (DBS). The goal is to move toward a truly individualized, holistic approach to patient counselling, one that better aligns patient expectations with likely outcomes before any intervention takes place.

The funding from Krembil will allow us to analyze our existing data to refine the predictive model and strengthen the neuroimaging biomarkers of treatment response. This groundwork is essential as we prepare to enhance the proposal for resubmission next year.

4. How impactful is your research on your career, and how do you balance robust research with your practice?
Research is central to who I am as a clinician. Balancing it with clinical duties is always a challenge — but I've come to see that tension as a feature, not a bug. The two genuinely strengthen each other. Research trains me to write concise, logically structured reports with precise language. Clinical work, in turn, keeps me grounded in the most pressing real-world gaps in the field. It's a loop that I think makes both sides better.

5. Tell us something about you that might surprise your colleagues!
I'm an avid surfer, yes, even as a Canadian! People are usually surprised by that one.