Multimodal imaging and analysis for monitoring physiological changes during brain injury

Annually in the UK, there are 100,000 strokes and 160,000 people admitted to hospital with a traumatic head injury - it is estimated that over 2 million people live with the long-term, debilitating consequences of a stroke or head injury.

Currently, we lack tools for effectively treating and monitoring brain injuries. One major limitation in developing new therapies is our lack of knowledge of the function and condition of brain tissue during and after traumatic and non-traumatic injury.
This project will develop and apply molecular imaging and microRNA analyses to monitor the physiological and molecular biomarkers of brain tissue during and after brain injuries. Rodent models of both stroke and traumatic brain injury will be used to compare approaches and results across pathologies. Comparison and cross-validation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and microRNA datasets will enhance the biological data obtained and increase likelihood of clinical translation.

This highly interdisciplinary project will involve chemical synthesis, histology, in vivo experiments, and analysis of MRI and microRNA datasets. The supervisory team and experimental facilities spans multiple complimentary departments, including the Schools of Medicine, Chemistry, Psychology, Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, and Precision Imaging Beacon at UoN, and Institute of Inflammation and Ageing at UoB.