People

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

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

• Hippocampal atrophy
• Cognitive ageing
• Stroke
• Brain tumours

I am a senior academic neuroradiologist with a major interest in stroke, ageing and the effects of vascular disease on the brain as determined using imaging. I established the University of Edinburgh’s Brain Imaging Research Centre in 1998 and have maintained it as a major research resource since then. I am interested in research methodologies such as systematic reviews of diagnostic tests, analysis of imaging data, improving methods to extract pathophysiological information from imaging of the brain. My major interests are determining the pathophysiological mechanisms of cerebral small vessel disease in particular the role of the blood brain barrier versus ischaemia, and of large artery stroke, in particular determining the duration of salvageable tissue and modifiable secondary pathophysiological events at which new treatments could be targeted. I have been interested in thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke since initiating a small RCT of intra-arterial thrombolysis (1990), and have maintained the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews review of Thrombolysis in Acute Ischaemic Stroke since then. I provided expert input to three multicentre thrombolysis in stroke trials (MAST-I, ECASS3 and IST-3). I have co-authored two highly regarded textbooks, numerous stroke guidelines and health economic assessments and provide teaching in neuroimaging for research through on-line MSc and CPD modules.