Host: School of Psychological Sciences and Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health
Speakers: Presenters: Dr Alex Gerhard (Senior lecturer, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health) and Dr Jason Taylor (Lecturer, School of Psychological Sciences)
Senior presenter:
Dr Alex Gerhard, Senior lecturer, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health: “In vivo imaging of neuroinflammation in neurological and psychiatric disease”
Dr Alexander Gerhard completed his medical training at the University of Bonn, Germany, before specialising in Neurology and completing an MD on molecular electrophysiology. He has worked as a Clinical Research Fellow at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, and in 2008 took up the position of Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre. He has a special interests in the role neuroinflammation in neurological and psychiatric disorders and has extensively used the PET– ligand and biomarker 11C®-PK11195 PET for activated microglia. The approach has been used in idiopathic Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticobasal degeneration. It has been possible to demonstrate a disease pattern in vivo that closely corresponds with the known neuropathology in these disorders. In addition to his research activities, Dr Gerhard is an Honorary Consultant in Neurology at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, where he conducts specialist clinics in neurodegeneration, including Parkinsonian disorders and early-onset dementias. The focus of his clinical research is the clinical characterization of neurodegenerative disorders in correlation to genetic, biochemical and neuropathological parameters.
Junior presenter:
Dr Jason Taylor, Lecturer, School of Psychological Sciences: "Multi-modal imaging of the ageing brain: Structure, function, and cognition"
Dr Jason Taylor studies human memory (episodic and semantic) using the complementary approaches of neuroimaging (MRI, fMRI), magneto- and electroencephalography (MEG, EEG), and cognitive neuropsychological studies of impaired memory due to neurological disorders or dementia. He is also interested in how changes in the ageing brain relate to changes in cognition over the adult lifespan, and how neuroimaging and statistical methods can be optimised to investigate these issues.
About the research series:
The monthly Faculty Research Series events are open to all staff and students from across the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences and the University, offering an opportunity to celebrate research achievement and stimulate scientific interaction. Each month one host School or Institute from the Faculty will pair with a different School or Institute to highlight and showcase similar topics from different perspectives. The 2014 series is led by Professor David Eisner and administered from the Faculty Research Office.
Schedule:
Held on Wednesday lunchtimes, each meeting lasts an hour, including two 20-25 minute presentations – one from a junior and one from a more senior member of Faculty staff. Each presentation will be followed by a short discussion. A buffet lunch will be available from 12.30. Presentations begin at 1pm.
Registration:
Please note that places will be limited so registration is essential, please register via Eventbrite
