AIBN Seminar Series - Multimodal Neuroimaging Markers of Neurodegeneration in Cerebellar Diseases

We would like to presentAssociate Professor Ian Harding to present on the topic Multimodal Neuroimaging Markers of Neurodegeneration in Cerebellar Diseases

When: 18th April 2024

Where: CAI Level 2 Seminar room - Building 57, or online via zoom https://uqz.zoom.us/j/85650479925

Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm

Abstract

Hereditary cerebellar ataxias are progressive neurodegenerative diseases that primarily target the cerebellum and cerebro-cerebellar circuits. Disease modifying therapies are lacking, and a major impediment to the therapeutic pipeline has been a lack of objective biomarkers of disease progression and characterisation of disease expression and evolution within the brain. In this talk, I will present multimodal neuroimaging studies we have undertaken in Friedreich ataxia, the most common inherited ataxia, using structural, diffusion, functional, and susceptibility MRI, as well as TSPO-PET for neuroinflammation, to describe disease expression and identify putative biomarkers for disease stratification and/or treatment response monitoring. This work includes in-house studies in modestly-sized cohorts, as well as the emerging “big data" work from the ENIGMA-Ataxia global consortium.

BIO:

Associate Professor Ian Harding is Group Leader of the Cerebellum & Neurodegeneration Research Group at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. He is an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow and Honorary Associate Professor at UQ and Monash University.

His team uses MRI and PET brain imaging, biofluid assays, and digital tools to measure and track disease expression and progression at mechanistic, neuroanatomical, and behavioural scales. His research primarily focusses on disorders that impact the cerebellum and cerebellar connections.