Prabhleen Kaur Rose Hills
Developing Histological 3D Iron Maps for DECOMPOSE-QSM MRI Validation
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) pathology is the leading cause of dementia, affecting over 6 million Americans. Detection of AD pathology remains challenging in early stages despite tau protein aggregation and amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques accumulating years before disease-defining symptoms. Decompose Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (D-QSM) is a new MRI technique that attempts to separately and quantitatively measure diamagnetic and paramagnetic susceptibility due to Aβ/tau proteins and iron deposition, respectively, within the same voxel. For the duration of this project, I will employ a histologically validated algorithm to reconstruct and register post-mortem human brain histological volumes voxel-by-voxel to the corresponding T1 MRI images, resulting in the creation of 3D iron deposit maps in the MRI space. These maps will go on to be used in the validation of molecular sources of susceptibility changes in D-QSM. This validation would lay the path for a neuroimaging technique capable of affordable, non-invasive prodromal diagnosis of AD. This would permit intervention before neurons become irretrievably damaged and be readily implementable in non-specialized clinics, well serving the growing population of AD patients.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to pursue this project. I am extremely grateful for your generosity and am excited to work with my mentors and contribute to the field of Alzheimer's disease research. This experience will not only enable me to develop valuable skills in neuroimaging analysis and biomarker validation, but may also make a meaningful impact on the Alzheimer's disease community. I am honored to receive your support and be a part of this endeavor.