Non-invasive MRI of Neurofluids and CSF-meditated brain clearance

Abstract:

In this talk I will begin by describing the concept of the glymphatic system and its possible implications in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.  I will then describe our recent efforts to develop new and non-invasive techniques to assess brain fluid movement using MRI, with a particular focus on functional imaging of the choroid plexus. Such methods may lead to improved mechanistic understanding and early detection of dementia and hydrocephalus.

 Bio: 

My research career has focused on the development of translational imaging techniques for non-invasive assessment of brain function using MRI.  In 2010, I completed my PhD in the development of novel arterial spin labelling MRI methods to image brain perfusion, supervised by Dr David Thomas and Prof Roger Ordidge.

 I then moved to the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI) as a post-doc, applying combined fMRI and optogenetics to investigate the mechanisms underlying neurovascular coupling.  In 2014, I worked at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba, Japan, developing methods to image microvascular flow patterns in the brain as well as using fMRI to investigate the neural correlates of chronic pain.  In 2016 I was responsible for the day-to-day running the new MSc in Advanced Biomedical Imaging at CABI.  In 2017, I began a Wellcome Trust/Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship centred on developing new and non-invasive techniques to image CSF-mediated brain clearance pathways, such as the recently proposed glymphatic system.  In 2022 I was awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship centred on using novel MRI methods to understand the role of the blood-CSF-barrier, or choroid plexus, in the development of dementia.