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Department of Neurosciences Department of Neurosciences
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Research

Cognitive decline that accompanies aging and neurodegenerative disease is a pressing public health concern for our global aging population. However, the lack of biomarkers sensitive to early pathological brain changes precludes timely disease detection and therapeutic intervention. Our lab uses advanced neuroimaging techniques to understand the earliest brain changes that emerge in normal aging and age-related neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease. Our multi-modal approach combines structural, diffusion, and permeability MRI to capture a comprehensive picture of changes to brain microstructure and blood-brain barrier integrity in normal and pathological aging. We evaluate these imaging measures relative to cognitive function, fluid biomarkers, genetics, health risks, and environment to better understand the interplay among non-modifiable and modifiable contributors to brain aging. We strive to optimize our methods by integrating emerging, novel imaging tools to more precisely measure subtle brain anatomical and neurovascular properties. Ultimately, our work aims to optimize approaches for the early detection of brain abnormalities leading to cognitive decline, and to guide precision-medicine strategies to preserve brain health into later life.

 

Enrolling studies 

We are currently enrolling adults over the age of 50 to participate in brain MRI studies to understand how the blood-brain barrier and brain microstructure change with normal aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and with long COVID. We are enrolling the following individuals:

 

  • Mild cognitive impairment
  • Early Alzheimer’s disease
  • Individuals considering treatment with anti-amyloid-b immunotherapy (lecanemab or donanemab)
  • Individuals with cognitive complaints associated with long COVID
  • Cognitively normal (no memory or other cognitive complaints)

 

If you are interested in participating, please contact us at reaslab@health.ucsd.edu

 

Our research has been supported by awards from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Warren Alpert Foundation, the BrightFocus Foundation, the American Federation for Aging Research, and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation.

 

Please view our Publications to learn more about our research.