Dr Nick Knowlton staff profile picture

Contact details +6492136220

Dr Nick Knowlton PhD

Senior Lecturer in Statistics

Doctoral Supervisor
School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences

Dr. Nicholas Knowlton is a Senior Lecturer in Statistics at Massey University and an Senior Research Fellow at the University of Auckland. His research integrates artificial intelligence and machine learning with translational science, focusing on reproductive biology and breast cancer. He specializes in image-based phenotyping and explainable AI, leading projects that utilize high-resolution imaging and clinical data to enhance fertility treatments and cancer diagnostics. Dr. Knowlton's work aims to improve health outcomes, particularly for underrepresented populations, by developing personalized and equitable medical technologies.

Professional

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Medicine - University of Auckland (2019)

Certifications and Registrations

  • Licence, Supervisor, Massey University

Research Expertise

Research Interests

Cancer biology, Spatial Analysis, -Omic Analysis, Computer Vision, Risk Models

Research Opportunities

  • Human IVF Improvement via Machine Learning  (01/10/2024) Using Computer Vision and ML methods improve the treatment and selection of human embryos for IVF.
  • Breast Density  (01/10/2024) Using computer vision models examine the NZ population by ethnicity to understand how density modifies cancer risk. An emphasis is placed on young women.
  • Bovine Fertility  (01/10/2024) A computer vision project to identify the morphology and morphokinetics of bovine sperm. How does these factors interact with fertility and calves on the ground.

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Agricultural Biotechnology (100100):
Applied Statistics (010401):
Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing (080100):
Cancer Diagnosis (111202):
Information And Computing Sciences (080000):
Mathematical Sciences (010000):
Medical And Health Sciences (110000):
Medical Biotechnology (100400):
Oncology and Carcinogenesis (111200):
Statistics (010400):
Technology (100000)

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, eXplainable AI (xAI), Reproductive Biology, In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), Breast Cancer Research, Cancer Diagnostics, Oncology, Medical Imaging, Image-Based Phenotyping, Statistical Modeling, Applied Statistics, Translational Science, Health Equity, Ethnicity-Based Risk Stratification, Omics Data Analysis

Research Outputs

Journal

Misaghi, H., Cree, L., & Knowlton, N. (2025). Accurate machine learning model for human embryo morphokinetic stage detection. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. 42(11), 3655-3665
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Roman, IC., Coull, G., Knowlton, N., Doherty-Eagles, T., Ozturk, O., Michielsen, A., . . . Zăhan, M. (2025). Limitations of ploidy prediction by time-lapse morphokinetics and artificial-intelligence-based embryo selection algorithms: trisomies fly under the radar. Reproductive Biomedicine Online. 51(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Lasham, A., Ramsaroop, R., Wrigley, A., & Knowlton, N. (2024). Analysis of HER2-Low Breast Cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study. Cancers. 16(18)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Bathon, JM., Centola, M., Liu, X., Jin, Z., Ji, W., Knowlton, NS., . . . Van Eyk, JE. (2023). Identification of novel biomarkers for the prediction of subclinical coronary artery atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an exploratory analysis. Arthritis Research and Therapy. 25(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Jahedi, H., Ramachandran, A., Windsor, J., Knowlton, N., Blenkiron, C., & Print, CG. (2022). Clinically Relevant Biology of Hyaluronic Acid in the Desmoplastic Stroma of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Pancreas. 51(9), 1092-1104
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Hearn, JI., Green, TN., Hisey, CL., Bender, M., Josefsson, EC., Knowlton, N., . . . Kalev-Zylinska, ML. (2022). Deletion of Grin1 in mouse megakaryocytes reveals NMDA receptor role in platelet function and proplatelet formation. Blood. 139(17), 2673-2690
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Lasham, A., Knowlton, N., Mehta, SY., Braithwaite, AW., & Print, CG. (2021). Breast cancer patient prognosis is determined by the interplay between TP53 mutation and alternative transcript expression: Insights from TP53 long amplicon digital PCR assays. Cancers. 13(7)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Lasham, A., Fitzgerald, SJ., Knowlton, N., Robb, T., Tsai, P., Black, MA., . . . Print, CG. (2020). A Predictor of Early Disease Recurrence in Patients With Breast Cancer Using a Cell-free RNA and Protein Liquid Biopsy. Clinical Breast Cancer. 20(2), 108-116
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Lasham, A., Tsai, P., Fitzgerald, SJ., Mehta, SY., Knowlton, NS., Braithwaite, AW., . . . Print, CG. (2020). Accessing a new dimension in TP53 biology: Multiplex long amplicon digital pcr to specifically detect and quantitate individual TP53 transcripts. Cancers. 12(3)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Hearn, JI., Green, TN., Chopra, M., Nursalim, YNS., Ladvanszky, L., Knowlton, N., . . . Kalev-Zylinska, ML. (2020). N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Hypofunction in Meg-01 Cells Reveals a Role for Intracellular Calcium Homeostasis in Balancing Megakaryocytic-Erythroid Differentiation. Thrombosis and Haemostasis. 120(4), 671-686
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Lawrence, B., Blenkiron, C., Parker, K., Tsai, P., Fitzgerald, S., Shields, P., . . . Print, C. (2018). Recurrent loss of heterozygosity correlates with clinical outcome in pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. Npj Genomic Medicine. 3(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Thomas, A., Routh, ED., Pullikuth, A., Jin, G., Su, J., Chou, JW., . . . Miller, LD. (2018). Tumor mutational burden is a determinant of immune-mediated survival in breast cancer. Oncoimmunology. 7(10)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Jamieson, SMF., Tsai, P., Kondratyev, MK., Budhani, P., Liu, A., Senzer, NN., . . . Hunter, FW. (2018). Evofosfamide for the treatment of human papillomavirus-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Jci Insight. 3(16)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Muthukaruppan, A., Lasham, A., Blenkiron, C., Woad, KJ., Black, MA., Knowlton, N., . . . Shelling, AN. (2017). Gene expression profiling of breast tumours from New Zealand patients. New Zealand Medical Journal. 130(1464), 40-56
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N., Muthukaruppan, A.
Jupe, ER., Dalessandri, KM., Mulvihill, JJ., Miike, R., Knowlton, NS., Pugh, TW., . . . Benz, CC. (2014). A steroid metabolizing gene variant in a polyfactorial model improves risk prediction in a high incidence breast cancer population. Bba Clinical. 2, 94-102
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Centola, M., Cavet, G., Shen, Y., Ramanujan, S., Knowlton, N., Swan, KA., . . . Curtis, JR. (2013). Development of a Multi-Biomarker Disease Activity Test for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Plos One. 8(4)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Balachova, T., Bonner, BL., Chaffin, M., Isurina, G., Shapkaitz, V., Tsvetkova, L., . . . Knowlton, N. (2013). Brief FASD prevention intervention: Physicians' skills demonstrated in a clinical trial in Russia. Addiction Science and Clinical Practice. 8(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Knowlton, N., Wages, JA., Centola, MB., & Alaupovic, P. (2012). Apolipoprotein-defined lipoprotein abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis patients and their potential impact on cardiovascular disease. Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology. 41(3), 165-169
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Knowlton, N., Wages, JA., Centola, MB., Giles, J., Bathon, J., Quiroga, C., . . . Alaupovic, P. (2012). Apolipoprotein B-containing lipoprotein subclasses as risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care and Research. 64(7), 993-1000
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Todd, DJ., Knowlton, N., Amato, M., Frank, MB., Schur, PH., Izmailova, ES., . . . Lee, DM. (2011). Erroneous augmentation of multiplex assay measurements in patients with rheumatoid arthritis due to heterophilic binding by serum rheumatoid factor. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 63(4), 894-903
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Hansen, KR., Hodnett, GM., Knowlton, N., & Craig, LB. (2011). Correlation of ovarian reserve tests with histologically determined primordial follicle number. Fertility and Sterility. 95(1), 170-175
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Lee, DM., Jackson, KW., Knowlton, N., Wages, J., Alaupovic, P., Samuelsson, O., . . . Attman, PO. (2011). Oxidative stress and inflammation in renal patients and healthy subjects. Plos One. 6(7)
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Szodoray, P., Alex, P., Knowlton, N., Centola, M., Dozmorov, I., Csipo, I., . . . Danko, K. (2010). Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, signified by distinctive peripheral cytokines, chemokines and the TNF family members B-cell activating factor and a proliferation inducing ligand. Rheumatology. 49(10), 1867-1877
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Carreras, E., Turner, S., Frank, MB., Knowlton, N., Osban, J., Centola, M., . . . Kovats, S. (2010). Estrogen receptor signaling promotes dendritic cell differentiation by increasing expression of the transcription factor IRF4. Blood. 115(2), 238-246
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Saban, MR., Sferra, TJ., Davis, CA., Simpson, C., Allen, A., Maier, J., . . . Saban, R. (2010). Neuropilin-VEGF signaling pathway acts as a key modulator of vascular, lymphatic, and inflammatory cell responses of the bladder to intravesical BCG treatment. American Journal of Physiology Renal Physiology. 299(6), F1245-F1256
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Frank, MB., Wang, S., Aggarwal, A., Knowlton, N., Jiang, K., Chen, Y., . . . Jarvis, JN. (2009). Disease-associated pathophysiologic structures in pediatric rheumatic diseases show characteristics of scale-free networks seen in physiologic systems: Implications for pathogenesis and treatment. BMC Medical Genomics. 2
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Jarvis, JN., Jiang, K., Frank, MB., Knowlton, N., Aggarwal, A., Wallace, CA., . . . Centola, M. (2009). Gene expression profiling in neutrophils from children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 60(5), 1488-1495
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Jiang, K., Krous, LC., Knowlton, N., Chen, Y., Frank, MB., Cadwell, C., . . . Jarvis, JN. (2009). Ablation of Stat3 by siRNA Alters Gene Expression Profiles in JEG-3 Cells: A Systems Biology Approach. Placenta. 30(9), 806-815
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Knowlton, N., Jiang, K., Frank, MB., Aggarwal, A., Wallace, C., McKee, R., . . . Jarvis, JN. (2009). The meaning of clinical remission in polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis: Gene expression profiling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells identifies distinct disease states. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 60(3), 892-900
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Nakou, M., Knowlton, N., Frank, MB., Bertsias, G., Osban, J., Sandel, CE., . . . Boumpas, DT. (2008). Gene expression in systemic lupus erythematosus: Bone marrow analysis differentiates active from inactive disease and reveals apoptosis and granulopoiesis signatures. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 58(11), 3541-3549
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Sawalha, AH., Jeffries, M., Webb, R., Lu, Q., Gorelik, G., Ray, D., . . . Richardson, B. (2008). Defective T-cell ERK signaling induces interferon-regulated gene expression and overexpression of methylation-sensitive genes similar to lupus patients. Genes and Immunity. 9(4), 368-378
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Hansen, KR., Knowlton, NS., Thyer, AC., Charleston, JS., Soules, MR., & Klein, NA. (2008). A new model of reproductive aging: The decline in ovarian non-growing follicle number from birth to menopause. Human Reproduction. 23(3), 699-708
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Szodoray, P., Alex, P., Chappell-Woodward, CM., Madland, TM., Knowlton, N., Dozmorov, I., . . . Centola, M. (2007). Circulating cytokines in Norwegian patients with psoriatic arthritis determined by a multiplex cytokine array system. Rheumatology. 46(3), 417-425
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Alex, P., Szodoray, P., Knowlton, N., Dozmorov, IM., Turner, M., Frank, MB., . . . Centola, M. (2007). Multiplex serum cytokine monitoring as a prognostic tool in rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. 25(4), 584-592
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Saban, MR., Simpson, C., Davis, C., Wallis, G., Knowlton, N., Frank, MB., . . . Saban, R. (2007). Discriminators of mouse bladder response to intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). BMC Immunology. 8
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Knowlton, N., Dozmorov, I., Kyker, KD., Saban, R., Cadwell, C., Centola, MB., . . . Hurst, RE. (2006). Template-driven gene selection procedure. IEE Proceedings Systems Biology. 153(1), 4-12
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Dozmorov, MG., Kyker, KD., Saban, R., Knowlton, N., Dozmorov, I., Centola, MB., . . . Hurst, RE. (2006). Analysis of the interaction of extracellular matrix and phenotype of bladder cancer cells. BMC Cancer. 6
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Szodoray, P., Alex, P., Frank, MB., Turner, M., Turner, S., Knowlton, N., . . . Centola, M. (2006). A genome-scale assessment of peripheral blood B-cell molecular homeostasis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology. 45(12), 1466-1476
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Dozmorov, IM., Centola, M., Knowlton, N., & Tang, Y. (2005). Mobile classification in microarray experiments. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology Supplement. 62(1), 84-91
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Huang, H., Frank, MB., Dozmorov, I., Cao, W., Cadwell, C., Knowlton, N., . . . Anderson, RE. (2005). Identification of mouse retinal genes differentially regulated by dim and bright cyclic light rearing. Experimental Eye Research. 80(5), 727-739
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Szodoray, P., Alex, P., Jonsson, MV., Knowlton, N., Dozmorov, I., Nakken, B., . . . Centola, M. (2005). Distinct profiles of Sjögren's syndrome patients with ectopic salivary gland germinal centers revealed by serum cytokines and BAFF. Clinical Immunology. 117(2), 168-176
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Cockrum, KJ., Knowlton, NS., & Centola, MB. (2005). Automated multiplexed cytokine bead assays. Bio Tech International. 17(5), 19-21
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Dozmorov, I., Saban, MR., Knowlton, N., Centola, M., & Saban, R. (2004). Connective molecular pathways of experimental bladder inflammation. Physiological Genomics. 15, 209-222
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Dozmorov, I., Knowlton, N., Tang, Y., & Centola, M. (2004). Statistical monitoring of weak spots for improvement of normalization and ratio estimates in microarrays. BMC Bioinformatics. 5
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Knowlton, N., Dozmorov, IM., & Centola, M. (2004). Microarray data analysis toolbox (MDAT): For normalization, adjustment and analysis of gene expression data. Bioinformatics. 20(18), 3687-3690
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.
Dozmorov, I., Knowlton, N., Tang, Y., Shields, A., Pathipvanich, P., Jarvis, JN., . . . Centola, M. (2004). Hypervariable genes--experimental error or hidden dynamics.. Nucleic Acids Research. 32(19), e147
[Journal article]Authored by: Knowlton, N.