Laurel Dieckhaus

I am a fifth-year PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in neuroscience. My research utilizes advanced MRI techniques to evaluate how brain structure differs in healthy individuals and those affected by neurodegenerative disorders and how structural changes may predict functional deficits.

It has been demonstrated that hyperphosphorylated tau, a factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease, propagates along brain connections. My research aims to determine if MRI metrics can detect the impact of this pathogenic material on white matter tracts and whether these changes can predict alterations in behavior. To achieve this, I am leveraging recent advancements in neuroimaging to comprehensively examine the effects of pathogenic materials on white matter tracts while developing an intermediary tau/amyloid seed animal model (the ferret). Additionally, I am evaluating what pathways are affected by normal aging by studying post-mortem nonhuman primate brains in collaboration with the Barnes lab.

My research aims to identify brain regions and pathways that are susceptible to disease using structural and functional multi-scale neuroimaging metrics. Using multiple animal models I am evaluating the effects of normal aging and the presence of pathogenic material on white matter connectivity. Using multiple animal models and multiple imaging scales improves generalizability and translational efficacy of advancements made using advanced imaging techniques. I expect this approach to contribute to (1) better identifying disease progression in affected patients, (2) improve early detection of disease onset, and (3) elucidate mechanisms by which the disease progression occurs.

Using advanced MR techniques, I am working to identify age-related changes in both micro and macro structure in post-mortem nonhuman primate brains. This research aims to identify correlations between these structural changes and age-related shifts in behavior, and it is being conducted in collaboration with the Barnes lab. Simultaneously, I am engaged in the development of a novel tau/amyloid seed model using ferrets. In this project I am investigating whether pathogenic material migrates spatially in a manner similar to rodents, and whether the distinctive anatomical features of the ferret brain, compared to rodents, enable the detection of seed-related changes using advanced MR techniques. To improve translatability, I will correlate seed-related changes with behavioral changes. Together, these research projects will provide insight into disease progression and have the potential to improve translational models in Alzheimer’s disease research.