Our research unifies the development of models/methods with application domains across neurological disorders and normal ageing.
See below for details. Contact us for further information.
Models
Models for Unstructured data
These models are designed to fuse together information from the constellation of multimodal biomarkers typically available in studies of dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
Event-based model
This model learns an ordering in which a set of biomarkers becomes abnormal, directly from a measured data set, possibly entirely cross-sectional, and requires no predefined staging variable. It is simple, and robust.
Scalar trajectory models
These models reconstruct typical continuous trajectories of scalar biomarkers from a measured data set.
Models for structured data
These models work with structured data such as images, geometric meshes, or networks in which data values have a well-defined spatial organisation.
Spatiotemporal models
These models construct a four-dimensional picture of how an image or image region typically evolves in shape and/or appearance during a disease or developmental process.
Network Propagation models
These models explain disease progression in terms of spatial propagation through anatomical or functional networks in the brain, which thus induce measurement changes sequentially along the nodes of a network.
Applications
Dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease, etc.)
We are constructing models for various dementia subtypes: Alzheimer’s Disease, Posterior Cortical Atrophy, Frontotemporal Dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, and Vascular Dementia. For this we are leveraging several large multimodal datasets to support model fitting.
Population Ageing
We are construct models of population ageing using the Rotterdam Study dataset. Understanding the healthy ageing process and how it varies across a population is enabling us to factor out this process to produce enhanced models of age-related diseases such as dementias.
Multiple Sclerosis
We are focussed on the neurodegenerative aspects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which match with the non-remitting assumption in the models that EuroPOND develops. We are using the models to study the relationship between progressive MS and relapsing-remitting MS.
Prion Diseases
The five subtypes of sporadic Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (CJD), which is the most common prion disease, have quite different prognoses, but definite diagnosis can be made only by brain tissue examination. We are developing models of prion disease to: i) test whether differences in the progression pattern potentially supporting early diagnosis arise among the five CJD subtypes; ii) validate models for prion-like disease propagation, which are one of the candidate propagation mechanisms we test in dementia; and iii) provide new insight into prion disease development and progression.
Neurodevelopment (childhood)
We are constructing models of normal and abnormal neurodevelopment focussing on early-life encephalopathy of prematurity. This is the first time that a data-driven model-based approach has been taken to understanding early childhood brain development.
