Novel tractography-guided MRI methods for studying healthy brain ageing. Advances in imaging, and particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging, have opened a new era in the study of the brain enabling a myriad of neuroscience discoveries. This project aims to develop new analysis methods to study and understand the variability in the human brain during ageing, exploiting the wealth of information contained in the so-called tractogram, a mapping of the brain’s wiring. This project expects to develop i ....Novel tractography-guided MRI methods for studying healthy brain ageing. Advances in imaging, and particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging, have opened a new era in the study of the brain enabling a myriad of neuroscience discoveries. This project aims to develop new analysis methods to study and understand the variability in the human brain during ageing, exploiting the wealth of information contained in the so-called tractogram, a mapping of the brain’s wiring. This project expects to develop innovative imaging biomarkers to characterise the brain changes in the course of healthy brain ageing. Expected outcomes include novel imaging tools for neuroscience, which should allow us to map trajectories of normative healthy brain ageing and use them to identify lifestyle factors that impact these trajectories.Read moreRead less
Creating a non-invasive window into the mind. This project aims to create better tools to study the human mind. This project expects to generate new knowledge that can be used to non-invasively image neuronal activity. Expected outcomes include the development of unique new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments to study neuronal activity in both highly controlled laboratory conditions and in humans, with the spatial and temporal resolution needed to study the neuronal circuitry that drive ....Creating a non-invasive window into the mind. This project aims to create better tools to study the human mind. This project expects to generate new knowledge that can be used to non-invasively image neuronal activity. Expected outcomes include the development of unique new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments to study neuronal activity in both highly controlled laboratory conditions and in humans, with the spatial and temporal resolution needed to study the neuronal circuitry that drives low and high-level brain functions, i.e., creating a window into the mind. In the future, outcomes from this study could improve our understanding of mental disorders, advance computer brain interface technology, and inspire the next paradigm shift in artificial intelligence.Read moreRead less
Ultra-sensitive 3D molecular assays using total body PET and deep learning. Recent advances in biomedical engineering have led to the development of Total Body Positron Emission Tomography (TB-PET), the most sensitive imaging device to date. Despite these impressive engineering advances, computational methods lag far behind and model-based approaches cannot deal with the complexity or volume of data these systems produce. We will develop new computational methods based on deep learning and stati ....Ultra-sensitive 3D molecular assays using total body PET and deep learning. Recent advances in biomedical engineering have led to the development of Total Body Positron Emission Tomography (TB-PET), the most sensitive imaging device to date. Despite these impressive engineering advances, computational methods lag far behind and model-based approaches cannot deal with the complexity or volume of data these systems produce. We will develop new computational methods based on deep learning and statistical methods that fully exploit the richness and complexity of the data generated by TB-PET, enabling 3D quantitative assays of molecular processes throughout the entire human body with unparalleled sensitivity. The technology we create will open up new capability for the study of complex physiological systems.Read moreRead less