[Comp-neuro] PhD Studentship, University College London, Centre for Medical Image Computing (CMIC)

[Andre Altmann]

We are looking to fill a 4-year PhD studentship in the field of imaging 
genetics to work on drug resistant Epilepsy:


Epilepsy is a group of neurological conditions that share the common 
characteristic of epileptic seizures. There are many types of epilepsy 
and many types of seizure. The diagnosis of epilepsy typically follows 
the occurrence of two or more seizures. While anyone can develop 
epilepsy at any point in life, it is most commonly diagnosed in children 
and people over 65 years of age. Currently, about 60 million people are 
suffering from epilepsy worldwide and over 500,000 in the UK alone.

Anti-epileptic drugs (AED) are intended to reduce the frequency of 
seizures or even completely eliminate them. If AED treatment works, it 
allows people living with epilepsy to lead normal lives. However, in 
about one third of people none of the available drugs or combinations of 
drugs stop the seizures. These cases are considered treatment-resistant 
epilepsies and the underlying biology is still poorly understood.

In this project, the successful candidate will help to advance knowledge 
about drug-resistant epilepsy. Using a large database of neuroimaging 
data from people with epilepsy, the first aim is to establish the 
imaging signature of drug-resistant epilepsy compared to drug-responsive 
epilepsy. That is, which brain regions show different cortical thickness 
or structural and functional connectivity changes in resistant vs 
responsive epilepsy? The second phase of the project involves an 
imaging-genetics approach to elucidate the genetic origin of 
drug-resistant epilepsy, which may help to identify drug targets for 
currently drug-resistant epilepsy.


More information on requirements and the medical imaging CDT can be 
found here:
http://medicalimaging-cdt.ucl.ac.uk/news/machine-learning-based-investigation-of-the-imaging-and-genetic-profile-of-drug-resistant-epilepsy


Kind regards,
Andre