Advanced neuroimaging offers the opportunity to non-invasively study brain changes in patients with dementia and contribute to our understanding, diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases. You will create new imaging approaches using the latest generation of integrated PET-MRI technology based on an understanding of the essential physics of MRI and PET. Following training in PET-MRI scanning and in MR sequence development, the project will design and implement modifications to scanner software and hardware to create novel scanning methods and then apply these in clinical studies of patients with dementia. A specific area for development will be simultaneous acquisition of regional metabolic rate (FDG-PET) and tissue metabolite content by MR spectroscopy (MRS) as an approach to understand regional cortical hypometabolism in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The project will also involve advanced image reconstruction and modelling of dynamic PET-MRI data. This work will shape the future use of both MRI and simultaneous PET-MRI in dementia research and clinical diagnosis.

This is available from 2nd October 2017 for 3 years.

Closing date: 31st May 2017.

You must apply through the University’s online postgraduate application system and ‘Create a new account’.