Identification and characterization of occipital-predominant signal on amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) in large cohorts of older participants
Renaud La Joie, Professor
UC San Francisco
Open. Apprentices needed for the fall semester. Enter your application online beginning August 21st. The deadline to apply is Monday, August 31st, 4pm.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline and accumulation of amyloid-β protein in the brain. Amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) enables visualization of amyloid deposition in vivo and can be used to determine the presence of amyloid plaques, supporting the diagnosis of AD.
In clinical practice, amyloid PET is typically evaluated using a visual read, which defines the scan as visually positive or negative based on tracer binding in a set of key cortical regions, including frontal, parietal, temporal, and precuneus cortices. However, a subset of individuals also demonstrates elevated amyloid tracer binding in occipital regions. Previous studies have suggested that increased occipital amyloid PET binding may be associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), which in turn is associated with an increased risk of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) in patients undergoing amyloid-targeting treatment. However, it remains unclear whether occipital amyloid PET binding is more frequently observed in patients with specific clinical variants of AD or with specific genetic or demographic profile. In this project, we aim to retrospectively screen participants from the UCSF Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), and Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Study (LEADS) cohorts with available amyloid PET imaging to identify individuals with elevated occipital amyloid binding and better characterize the clinical, genetic, and demographic features associated with this imaging pattern.
Role: Undergraduate researchers will be trained to extract regional quantitative measures from imaging data and leverage existing research databases to integrate imaging measures with available clinical, demographic, genetic, cognitive, and PET visual-read data. These data will be used to build a cohort of cases with elevated occipital binding and appropriate comparison participants. We will then investigate whether the presence of elevated occipital amyloid binding is associated with specific baseline characteristics and whether it is associated with or predicts clinical features. Students who demonstrate strong engagement and progress with the project will have the opportunity to extend this work in subsequent semesters, potentially investigating associations between occipital amyloid binding and findings from other imaging modalities.
Students will gain hands-on experience working with neuroimaging data and conducting research in Alzheimer’s disease. They will learn basic principles of PET imaging, amyloid pathology, and neuroanatomy, as well as practical approaches for working with large clinical and imaging databases. Students will gain experience integrating imaging, clinical, demographic, cognitive, and genetic data and will be introduced to approaches for formulating and testing research hypotheses. Through regular participation in project meetings and scientific discussions, students will also develop skills in interpretation of research findings and communication of scientific results.
Qualifications: The student should have a strong interest in neuroscience, neuroimaging, and Alzheimer’s disease. Prior experience with neuroimaging or PET imaging is not required, as relevant training will be provided. The student should be detail-oriented, organized, and comfortable working with large datasets and learning new research methods. Experience with data analysis and programming (e.g., Python, R, or MATLAB) is preferred. The student should demonstrate willingness to work independently while actively participating in regular project meetings and scientific discussions.
The candidate should be able to be on site (i.e. off UCB campus) at least one day a week when the lab is present at UC San Francisco Mission Bay Campus on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays (preferably Thursdays, when we have lab meeting).
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Ganna Blazhenets, PhD
Hours: to be negotiated
Off-Campus Research Site: 654 Minnesota St San Francisco, CA 94107
Biological & Health Sciences