Lena Oestreich

Multi-modal MRI assessment of cerebrovascular burden in Alzheimer's disease

This project aims to develop multi-modal MRI-based methods for comprehensive assessment of cerebrovascular burden (e.g., white matter lesions, microbleeds, enlarged perivascular space, etc.) in Alzheimer's disease and investigate their spatial effects on disease progression and domain-specific cognitive decline. Successful applicants will be co-supervised by leading researchers from CSIRO. In addition to the primary scholarship, students will also be eligible for a CSIRO top-up scholarship, providing additional financial support throughout their candidature.

Various projects using the UK biobank neuroimaging data

The UK Biobank is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource, containing in-depth neuroimaging, genetic and health information from half a million UK participants.

Multiple projects are available for students interested to work on large neuroimaging datasets. Methods used in our group include, but are not limited to, diffusion MRI, connectomics, resting-state fMRI, machine learning, structure-function coupling and sympotm-comorbidity mapping using graph theroetical approaches. Our main focus is inspired by the goal to develop a better understanding of brain-based mechanisms and associated risk factors that lead to the development and maintenance of mental disorders and neuropsychiatric consequence of brain injury or other neurological conditions. Students interested in healthy brain strucutre and function are also welcome to apply.

Cholinergic dysfunction in Ageing and Dementia

This project aims to characterise the natural history of the structure-function integrity of the basal forebrain cholinergic system in ageing and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Multi-modal MRI techniques will be employed to map the trajectory of structural and functional changes in the cholinergic system in healthy ageing individuals and participants with early AD. Successful applicants will be co-supervised by leading researchers from CSIRO. In addition to the primary scholarship, students will also be eligible for a CSIRO top-up scholarship, providing additional financial support throughout their candidature.

Brain-behaviour associations and genetic risks in midlife

This project aims to explore the relationships between brain structure/function (T1, dMRI, fMRI), cognitive function, and genetic risk factors in middle-aged individuals. This project will focus on characterising the brain-behavior associations in middle-aged cognitive unimpaired subjects and how these associations are influenced by the amyloid levels, APOE e4 allele and polygenetic risk scores (PRS) for Alzheimer's disease. Successful applicants will be co-supervised by leading researchers from CSIRO. In addition to the primary scholarship, students will also be eligible for a CSIRO top-up scholarship, providing additional financial support throughout their candidature.

Multi-modal MRI assessment of cerebrovascular burden in Alzheimer's disease

This project aims to develop multi-modal MRI-based methods for comprehensive assessment of cerebrovascular burden (e.g., white matter lesions, microbleeds, enlarged perivascular space, etc.) in Alzheimer's disease and investigate their spatial effects on disease progression and domain-specific cognitive decline. Successful applicants will be co-supervised by leading researchers from CSIRO. In addition to the primary scholarship, students will also be eligible for a CSIRO top-up scholarship, providing additional financial support throughout their candidature.