Neural circuit dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease
Kamalini Ranasinghe, Professor
UC San Francisco
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
The goal of this project is to investigate the associations between anormal protein depositions in the brain and how these may change the neuronal firing in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We use magnetoencephalography (MEG) electroencephalography (EEG) to record the activity of neurons and molecular imaging to quantify amyloid and tau proteins in the brain, in patients with AD. We aim to understand how aberrant neural activity during awake and during sleep relate to the pathological protein accumulations in the brain and give rise to deficits in cognitive abilities and neural plasticity in AD.
Role: Role: Potential tasks may include:
• Pre-processing of imaging data
• Visualization and quantification of brain imaging data
• Scoring of behavioral videos
• Database management using clinical/behavioral/cognitive information
• Running basic statistical programs
Qualifications: Qualifications: Background in basic programming is helpful (eg: Matlab), as well as basic biology and neuroscience.
Hours: to be negotiated
Off-Campus Research Site: Off-Campus Research Site: Weill institute of Neuroscience, UCSF Mission Bay Campus 1651 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158
Biological & Health Sciences