Institutes
Neuroimaging of neurodegenerative diseases
In our research group, diverse expertise converges to address critical challenges in understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases. Our focus centers on leveraging neuroimaging markers for early detection and anticipation of future progression in these conditions, playing a crucial role in the advancement of upcoming treatments.
Research Activity
Current knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases is limited by poor understanding of how they progress through the central nervous system (CNS). It has recently been hypothesized that clinical progression in these conditions involves the systematic spreading of protein misfolding along neuronal pathways. In neurodegenerative diseases, novel neuroimaging techniques can help to elucidate the spatial, time-dependent expansion of the underlying pathology across brain networks. Our research program seeks to develop novel neuroimaging tools for understanding the biological underpinnings of CNS proteinopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease, and to help identifying individualized, early interventions to modify disease progression.
Specifically, our current major research interests are:
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To use MRI, together with biological (CSF and blood-based) biomarkers, to assess the earliest manifestations of neurodegenerative diseases and improve their early (and differential) diagnosis;
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To decipher the mechanisms of network-based neurodegeneration by understanding how the complex architecture of brain networks shapes the evolving pathology of neurodegenerative diseases;
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To develop tools for monitoring neurodegenerative disease progression from presymptomatic to later stages of the disorder, with an emphasis on combining approaches into multimodal biomarkers;
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To develop new non-invasive therapeutic techniques and strategies to fight neurodegenerative diseases.
