The Brain-Wide Scale Program aims to investigate brain-wide pathways to clear Aβ aggregates in vivo. It seeks to develop a suite of tests with superior sensitivity compared to current industry-standard tests for detecting neuropsychological changes. Additionally, the program focuses on creating novel MRI applications for differential diagnosis, including quantitative cortical thickness maps for individual patients, and translating earlier work with diffusion imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping. The program emphasizes CRE-wide harmonization of data collection for brain-wide assessments (memory and motor) in transgenic mouse models, mapped against molecular and cellular scale analyses, and validated in Alzheimer’s tissue. Furthermore, it aims to navigate the path from bench to bedside through clinical trials utilizing low-intensity ultrasound to treat Alzheimer’s.

Projects:

– Brain-wide glymphatic clearance of aggregated proteins

– Optimising cognitive tests as endpoints for dementias including Alzheimer’s disease

– Novel applications for MRI in differential diagnosis

– Collaborative brain-wide assessments in transgenic mouse models

– Clinical trial using low-intensity ultrasound

– Modelling BBB dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease: A transcriptomic study of iPSC-Derived Brain Pericytes from Alzheimer’s Disease Patients (MIND-AD CRE Funded; AI White, CI Ooi, CI Lazarou, Dr. Juliana Chaves)