People

I am a researcher in image analysis. I developed theoretical and application oriented methods. I have been working with different kind of images: medical, food, radar, robotic and forensic images. Recently I worked with skin lesion images and retinal images. See my 100+ publications (google scholar or researchgate) for more details

I am presently working MR brain images.

I am analysing subtle symptoms of cerebral SVD in in relation to imaging correlates, which is important in order to translate radiological evidence of ‘silent’ SVD into clinically significant outcomes. I am characterising these symptoms in relation to progression of SVD radiologically based on longitudinal disease progression on MRI. This work will allow us to identify those individuals with early features of SVD, before significant disease progression occurs. Identifying the disease early will be central to future dementia and stroke prevention. I am currently involved in the Mild Stroke Study 3, the R4VaD Study and the LACI-2 Study.

Supervisors: Prof. Joanna Wardlaw and Dr Fergus Doubal

Structural brain ageing

White matter disease

Cognitive ageing

Stroke

Image Analysis

Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

We focus on processing biomedical signals and images in clinical applications.

Our main aim is to reveal the subtle changes that major diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's and epilepsy) cause in the brain activity and how this changes in different conditions and mental states.

In collaboration with researchers at Edinburgh, across the UK and overseas, we are currently working in the processing and analysis of biomedical signals, particularly human brain activity. By applying advanced mathematics, we aim at increasing our understanding of how several brain conditions progress. Of particular interest is the evaluation of brain functional connectivity in both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases to understand how they affect the way in which different brain regions interact with each other. We are also interested in the interplay between structure and function in the brain and in the application of pattern recognition techniques to highly-dimensional clinical datasets to support decision making. Finally, we also work in the development of non-invasive methods for rehabilitation purposes, being either the dexterous controls prostheses for amputees or brain-computer interfaces.

For additional information, please see: http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/jescuder

I am interested in the vulnerability of the ageing brain, especially changes cognitive ability and behaviour that can occur as part of 'healthy' ageing, or as a result of diseases such as stroke or dementia.

My PhD project focuses on changes in cognitive ability in cerebral small vessel disease and how this might relate to structural brain changes that occur throughout the disease course.

Currently, I am conducting a systematic review on the associations between domain specific cognitive ability and structural brain changes (visible on MRI) in sporadic small vessel disease (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=80215). I am also employing structural equation modelling techniques to investigate the relationship between visible MRI markers of sporadic small vessel disease and cognitive ability longitudinally in several large cohorts.

My research aims to better characterise the cognitive symptomatology of cerebral small vessel disease and its trajectory over the disease course; examine how this relates to underlying changes in brain structure; and to explore how we can use neuroimaging, psychological and epidemiological data to more accurately predict outcomes for people with cerebral small vessel disease.

Supervisors: Professor Joanna Wardlaw and Professor Ian Deary

Magdalena is a neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist in Psychology at the University of Stirling. Beside Magnetic Resonance, research questions in her lab are answered using brain stimulation (TMS and tDCS) and (mobile) EEG as well as behavioural techniques such as eye-movements and movement kinematics and behavioural lesion studies in neurological patients. Basic science in her lab centres primarily around perception and action ranging from visuomotor function to social neuroscience. Her applied work is on motor rehabilitation and more recently on brain injury diagnostics too. She works collaboratively towards mobile neuroimaging solutions to investigate more real-world cognition. Magdalena is interested in brain plasticity both with regards to cognitive architecture and changes of function in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and abnormal development such as autism. Due to the increasing societal challenge of dementia she wants to contribute to mobilising the neuroscience community to answer perhaps by clarifying the role of plasticity in delaying dementia onset. Magdalena is very interested in collaborating in particular on understanding the normal brain through the study of people with brain damage and work towards evidence-based changes in practice. For details on research activity see www.StirlingBrains.org ; www.MobileCognition.org ; https://sites.google.com/site/magdalenaietswaart/home

My research is mainly focused on investigating the cognitive and neural correlates of a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g., delusions, sleep disorder, depression, apathy).

I am interested in improving the diagnosis/detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia (especially in the earliest stages) through customised assessment methods or through the use of multivariate markers.  Variants of these markers could also be used to stratify patients or as outcome measures for clinical drug trials.  Relatedly, I have interests in developing methods to speed drug development.

I have projects underway to develop serum blood-based biomarkers for the dementias (in combination with other methods), to investigate the diagnostic utility of customised neuropsychological tests (and analysis methods), and in the near future hope to begin a project that will utilise electrophysiological methods.

I have an additional research line that focuses on understanding the neural bases of hypnosis and suggestibility. By targeting individual differences suggestion can be used to study elements of psychosis, changes in agency, and other interesting psychological and behavioural phenomena.

Within my research I use structural magnetic resonance imaging techniques (voxel-based morphometry and cortical thickness assessment), functional magnetic resonance imaging (brain activity and connectivity analyses), electrophysiological methods, and neuropsychological assessment.