Speaker: Sara Early (left)
Paper: Cross-cohort evaluation of the brain age gap as a biomarker for dementia severity
This study explores how the brain age gap (BAG), the difference between an individual's machine learning–predicted brain age and their chronological age, varies across stages and subtypes of dementia. Using a deep learning model trained on structural MRI, we examined patterns of accelerated brain aging associated with different pathologies. Our findings highlight BAG as a promising, non-invasive biomarker of neurodegenerative severity that could support earlier diagnosis and more personalized dementia care strategies.
About the Speaker: Sara Early is a third-year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Calgary, specializing in medical imaging. Under the supervision of Dr. Nils Forkert, her research focuses on developing reliable machine learning models for dementia assessment across diverse clinical stages and subtypes. Originally from Ontario, she moved out west to make the most of the Rocky Mountains while pursuing her graduate studies, often spending her free time hiking or skiing.
Speaker: Elvira Vasquez (right)
About the talk: This talk will cover the basic principles of ultrasound for vasculature imaging. In particular, we will discuss:
Contrast agents such as microbubbles and gas vesicles
Ultrasound localization microscopy
Non-linear sound-sheet microscopy
Superharmonic contrast imaging
Current ultrasound applications in pre-clinical neuroimaging
About the Speaker: Elvira Vazquez is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the development of superharmonic contrast imaging, a novel ultrasound technique to image vasculature, to study stroke under the supervision of Dr. Christine Demore and Dr. Bojana Stefanovic. Elvira completed her B.Sc. in Honours Physics at McGill University.
Speaker: Thomas Oldreive (Rescheduled from Oct 6)
Paper: Utility of cerebrovascular imaging biomarkers to detect cerebral amyloidosis