Keck School of Medicine of USC

University of Southern California

323-44-BRAIN (323-442-7246)

USC Mark and

Mary Stevens

Neuroimaging

and Informatics

Institute

New research from Victoria R. Tennant, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, has identified a new brain imaging benchmark that may improve how researchers classify biologically meaningful changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, especially in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations. The new study, published in Imaging Neuroscience, is part of the Health and Aging Brain Study–Health Disparities (HABS-HD), a multi-university collaboration led by the University of North Texas Health Science Center and supported by the National Institute on Aging.

A new brain imaging benchmark to classify changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease

We’re proud to share new research from Amaryllis Tsiknia, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, revealing a significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults. Using neuroimaging data from a large, diverse cohort, the study found that individuals with type 2 diabetes had thinner cortices in regions critical for memory and cognition. These findings underscore the importance of blood sugar management in protecting brain health and highlight the need for tailored interventions across different populations.

A significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults

This animation shows how focused ultrasound and tiny microbubbles can temporarily open the brain’s protective barrier, making it easier and safer to deliver treatments directly to the brain without surgery.

Discover how the Stevens INI became a global leader in brain research. Our 10th Anniversary Lookbook offers a stunning visual journey through ten years of innovation, collaboration, and impact—take a look inside!

Using a special type of MRI scan, we found that blood flow in the brain gradually decreases across the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This drop is most noticeable in areas linked to memory and thinking.

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, completed Chapter 33, Multicenter studies and harmonization: Problems, solutions, and open challenges in the new Handbook of Diffusion MR Tractography. Combining diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) across scanners and sites can improve our understanding of the human brain in health and disease. But differences in how the data are collected make it hard to analyze everything together. This chapter examines the origins of these differences, the approaches researchers take to address them, and the challenges that remain as brain imaging studies expand in scope.

Publications by several Institute members were recognized as among the top 10% of most-viewed papers published by Wiley in 2023:

Transformer-based deep learning denoising of single and multi-delay 3D arterial spin labeling

Retinal perfusion is linked to cognition and brain MRI biomarkers in Black Americans

Weakly supervised perivascular spaces segmentation with salient guidance of Frangi filter

Comparison of genetic and health risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants

Congratulations to Christina Choi for her USC Provost Research Fellowship! Christina will work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on her project.

“My study uses advanced brain imaging to explore whether problems with the brain’s waste-clearing system are linked to early buildup of a protein called alpha-synuclein and changes in dopamine function—both of which may play a role in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Identifying such correlations could help establish novel biomarkers for early PD progression.”

Congratulations also to Andrew Kim for his Parkinson’s Foundation grant! Andrew will also work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on his project.

“My project investigates the role of the brain’s glymphatic system in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). By analyzing imaging data, I aim to identify whether dysfunction in this waste-clearance system correlates with dopamine loss and clinical symptoms. If successful, this research could establish glymphatic function as a novel biomarker for early diagnosis and potential therapeutic intervention in PD.”

Students from Occidental College visited the Institute as a part of their computational neuroscience course. They gained firsthand exposure to our cutting-edge neuroimaging technologies and discussed data science applications in brain research. The visit offers a unique opportunity to engage with our faculty and explore real-world applications of computational methods in neuroscience.

With new funding from the National Institute on Aging, Neda Jahanshad, PhD, and our Laboratory of Brain eScience (LoBeS) will utilize AI and brain scans to track the progression of Alzheimer’s disease—and how lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, may help. The goal is to develop personalized, brain-wide prediction tools to guide early treatment and prevention.

Dr. Jahanshad has also been selected to join the global CARE (Cutting Alzheimer’s Risk through Endocrinology) program from Wellcome Leap, a leading organization that funds unconventional scientific breakthroughs. She will lead a groundbreaking three-year project aimed at better understanding how menopause and modifiable lifestyle factors influence brain aging in women.

Danny JJ Wang, PhD, played a leading role in the 2025 SMARTA MRI Workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. He led sessions on arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques and data analysis, supporting the workshop’s mission to expand MRI access and training across Africa. His contributions reflect our ongoing commitment to global education, equitable access to imaging technologies, and capacity building in resource-limited settings.

At the 2025 Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting, Stevens INI Associate Director Paul M. Thompson, PhD, delivered the prestigious Talairach Lecture, outlining a bold vision for harnessing artificial intelligence and worldwide collaboration to combat brain diseases.

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, was selected as the 2025 OHBM Open Science Award Winner. The award was presented at the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting in Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Jahanshad was recognized for her significant contributions to open science practices in the field of human brain mapping.

Dr. Thompson has also been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP). This prestigious honor recognizes individuals whose groundbreaking work has significantly advanced the field of biological psychiatry.

Awarded by our Institute, the 7T MRI Discovery Award supports innovative pilot projects that leverage the power of ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI to advance neuroscience research.

Dr. Fan’s winning proposal focuses on improving care for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which accounts for over 90% of TBI cases seen in hospitals. While considered “mild,” up to 30% of adults with mTBI experience lasting cognitive issues beyond three months. Dr. Fan aims to refine a novel hybrid perfusion and permeability MRI technique at 7T and evaluate its potential to predict cognitive outcomes six months after injury—paving the way for earlier interventions and better long-term care.

Drs. Azevedo and Sati are using advanced brain imaging with 7T MRI to get a closer look at the damage inside MS lesions and how well that tissue might heal. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of non-traumatic neurologic disability in young adults in the US. MS affects people in very different ways, making it hard to predict how the disease will progress or how well someone will respond to treatment. Their work could lead to new ways of using MRI to track disease severity and evaluate treatments in future clinical trials.

Congratulations to Zhaoyang Fan, PhD, Christina Azevedo, MD, MPH, FAAN, and Pascal Sati, PhD, recipients of this year’s 7T MRI Discovery Award!

USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

Keck School of Medicine of USC

University of Southern California

323-44-BRAIN (323-442-7246)

USC Mark and

Mary Stevens

Neuroimaging

and Informatics

Institute

USC Mark and

Mary Stevens

Neuroimaging

and Informatics

Institute

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, was selected as the 2025 OHBM Open Science Award Winner. The award was presented at the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting in Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Jahanshad was recognized for her significant contributions to open science practices in the field of human brain mapping.

With new funding from the National Institute on Aging, Neda Jahanshad, PhD, and our Labora-tory of Brain eScience (LoBeS) will utilize AI and brain scans to track the progression of Alzheimer’s disease—and how lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, may help. The goal is to develop personalized, brain-wide prediction tools to guide early treatment and prevention.

Dr. Jahanshad has also been selected to join the global CARE (Cutting Alzheimer’s Risk through Endocrinology) program from Wellcome Leap, a leading organization that funds unconventional scientific breakthroughs. She will lead a groundbreaking three-year project aimed at better understanding how menopause and modifiable lifestyle factors influence brain aging in women.

Dr. Thompson has also been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP). This prestigious honor recognizes individuals whose groundbreaking work has significantly advanced the field of biological psychiatry.

Danny JJ Wang, PhD, played a leading role in the 2025 SMARTA MRI Workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. He led sessions on arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques and data analysis, supporting the workshop’s mission to expand MRI access and training across Africa. His contributions reflect our ongoing commitment to global education, equitable access to imaging technologies, and capacity building in resource-limited settings.

At the 2025 Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting, Stevens INI Associate Director Paul M. Thompson, PhD, delivered the prestigious Talairach Lecture, outlining a bold vision for harnessing artificial intelligence and worldwide collaboration to combat brain diseases.

Awarded by our Institute, the 7T MRI Discovery Award supports innovative pilot projects that leverage the power of ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI to advance neuroscience research.

Dr. Fan’s winning proposal focuses on improving care for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which accounts for over 90% of TBI cases seen in hospitals. While considered “mild,” up to 30% of adults with mTBI experience lasting cognitive issues beyond three months. Dr. Fan aims to refine a novel hybrid perfusion and permeability MRI technique at 7T and evaluate its potential to predict cognitive outcomes six months after injury—paving the way for earlier interventions and better long-term care.

Drs. Azevedo and Sati are using advanced brain imaging with 7T MRI to get a closer look at the damage inside MS lesions and how well that tissue might heal. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of non-traumatic neurologic disability in young adults in the US. MS affects people in very different ways, making it hard to predict how the disease will progress or how well someone will respond to treatment. Their work could lead to new ways of using MRI to track disease severity and evaluate treatments in future clinical trials.

Congratulations to Zhaoyang Fan, PhD, Christina Azevedo, MD, MPH, FAAN, and Pascal Sati, PhD, recipients of this year’s 7T MRI Discovery Award!

New research from Victoria R. Tennant, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, has identified a new brain imaging benchmark that may improve how researchers classify biologically meaningful changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, especially in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations. The new study, published in Imaging Neuroscience, is part of the Health and Aging Brain Study–Health Disparities (HABS-HD), a multi-university collaboration led by the University of North Texas Health Science Center and supported by the National Institute on Aging.

A new brain imaging benchmark to classify changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease

We’re proud to share new research from Amaryllis Tsiknia, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, revealing a significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults. Using neuroimaging data from a large, diverse cohort, the study found that individuals with type 2 diabetes had thinner cortices in regions critical for memory and cognition. These findings underscore the importance of blood sugar management in protecting brain health and highlight the need for tailored interventions across different populations.

A significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults

This animation shows how focused ultrasound and tiny microbubbles can temporarily open the brain’s protective barrier, making it easier and safer to deliver treatments directly to the brain without surgery.

Discover how the Stevens INI became a global leader in brain research. Our 10th Anniversary Lookbook offers a stunning visual journey through ten years of innovation, collaboration, and impact—take a look inside!

Using a special type of MRI scan, we found that blood flow in the brain gradually decreases across the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This drop is most noticeable in areas linked to memory and thinking.

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, completed Chapter 33, Multicenter studies and harmonization: Problems, solutions, and open challenges in the new Handbook of Diffusion MR Tractography. Combining diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) across scanners and sites can improve our understanding of the human brain in health and disease. But differences in how the data are collected make it hard to analyze everything together. This chapter examines the origins of these differences, the approaches researchers take to address them, and the challenges that remain as brain imaging studies expand in scope.

Publications by several Institute members were recognized as among the top 10% of most-viewed papers published by Wiley in 2023:

Transformer-based deep learning denoising of single and multi-delay 3D arterial spin labeling

Retinal perfusion is linked to cognition and brain MRI biomarkers in Black Americans

Weakly supervised perivascular spaces segmentation with salient guidance of Frangi filter

Comparison of genetic and health risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants

Publication Spotlight

Congratulations to Christina Choi for her USC Provost Research Fellowship! Christina will work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on her project.

“My study uses advanced brain imaging to explore whether problems with the brain’s waste-clearing system are linked to early buildup of a protein called alpha-synuclein and changes in dopamine function—both of which may play a role in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Identifying such correlations could help establish novel biomarkers for early PD progression.”

Congratulations also to Andrew Kim for his Parkinson’s Foundation grant! Andrew will also work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on his project.

“My project investigates the role of the brain’s glymphatic system in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). By analyzing imaging data, I aim to identify whether dysfunction in this waste-clearance system correlates with dopamine loss and clinical symptoms. If successful, this research could establish glymphatic function as a novel biomarker for early diagnosis and potential therapeutic intervention in PD.”

Students from Occidental College visited the Institute as a part of their computational neuroscience course. They gained firsthand exposure to our cutting-edge neuroimaging technologies and discussed data science applications in brain research. The visit offers a unique opportunity to engage with our faculty and explore real-world applications of computational methods in neuroscience.

USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

Keck School of Medicine of USC

University of Southern California

323-44-BRAIN (323-442-7246)

USC Mark and Mary Stevens

Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, was selected as the 2025 OHBM Open Science Award Winner. The award was presented at the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting in Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Jahanshad was recognized for her significant contributions to open science practices in the field of human brain mapping.

With new funding from the National Institute on Aging, Neda Jahanshad, PhD, and our Laboratory of Brain eScience (LoBeS) will utilize AI and brain scans to track the progression of Alzheimer’s disease—and how lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, may help. The goal is to develop personalized, brain-wide prediction tools to guide early treatment and prevention.

Dr. Jahanshad has also been selected to join the global CARE (Cutting Alzheimer’s Risk through Endocrinology) program from Wellcome Leap, a leading organization that funds unconventional scientific breakthroughs. She will lead a groundbreaking three-year project aimed at better understanding how menopause and modifiable lifestyle factors influence brain aging in women.

Dr. Thompson has also been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP). This prestigious honor recognizes individuals whose groundbreaking work has significantly advanced the field of biological psychiatry.

Danny JJ Wang, PhD, played a leading role in the 2025 SMARTA MRI Workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. He led sessions on arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques and data analysis, supporting the workshop’s mission to expand MRI access and training across Africa. His contributions reflect our ongoing commitment to global education, equitable access to imaging technologies, and capacity building in resource-limited settings.

At the 2025 Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting, Stevens INI Associate Director Paul M. Thompson, PhD, delivered the prestigious Talairach Lecture, outlining a bold vision for harnessing artificial intelligence and worldwide collaboration to combat brain diseases.

Awarded by our Institute, the 7T MRI Discovery Award supports innovative pilot projects that leverage the power of ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI to advance neuroscience research.

Dr. Fan’s winning proposal focuses on improving care for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which accounts for over 90% of TBI cases seen in hospitals. While considered “mild,” up to 30% of adults with mTBI experience lasting cognitive issues beyond three months. Dr. Fan aims to refine a novel hybrid perfusion and permeability MRI technique at 7T and evaluate its potential to predict cognitive outcomes six months after injury—paving the way for earlier interventions and better long-term care.

Drs. Azevedo and Sati are using advanced brain imaging with 7T MRI to get a closer look at the damage inside MS lesions and how well that tissue might heal. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of non-traumatic neurologic disability in young adults in the US. MS affects people in very different ways, making it hard to predict how the disease will progress or how well someone will respond to treatment. Their work could lead to new ways of using MRI to track disease severity and evaluate treatments in future clinical trials.

Congratulations to Zhaoyang Fan, PhD, Christina Azevedo, MD, MPH, FAAN, and Pascal Sati, PhD, recipients of this year’s 7T MRI Discovery Award!

New research from Victoria R. Tennant, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, has identified a new brain imaging benchmark that may improve how researchers classify biologically meaningful changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, especially in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations. The new study, published in Imaging Neuroscience, is part of the Health and Aging Brain Study–Health Disparities (HABS-HD), a multi-university collaboration led by the University of North Texas Health Science Center and supported by the National Institute on Aging.

A new brain imaging benchmark to classify changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease

We’re proud to share new research from Amaryllis Tsiknia, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, revealing a significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults. Using neuroimaging data from a large, diverse cohort, the study found that individuals with type 2 diabetes had thinner cortices in regions critical for memory and cognition. These findings underscore the importance of blood sugar management in protecting brain health and highlight the need for tailored interventions across different populations.

A significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults

This animation shows how focused ultrasound and tiny microbubbles can temporarily open the brain’s protective barrier, making it easier and safer to deliver treatments directly to the brain without surgery.

Discover how the Stevens INI became a global leader in brain research. Our 10th Anniversary Lookbook offers a stunning visual journey through ten years of innovation, collaboration, and impact—take a look inside!

Using a special type of MRI scan, we found that blood flow in the brain gradually decreases across the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This drop is most noticeable in areas linked to memory and thinking.

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, completed Chapter 33, Multicenter studies and harmonization: Problems, solutions, and open challenges in the new Handbook of Diffusion MR Tractography. Combining diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) across scanners and sites can improve our understanding of the human brain in health and disease. But differences in how the data are collected make it hard to analyze everything together. This chapter examines the origins of these differences, the approaches researchers take to address them, and the challenges that remain as brain imaging studies expand in scope.

Publications by several Institute members were recognized as among the top 10% of most-viewed papers published by Wiley in 2023:

Transformer-based deep learning denoising of single and multi-delay 3D arterial spin labeling

Retinal perfusion is linked to cognition and brain MRI biomarkers in Black Americans

Weakly supervised perivascular spaces segmentation with salient guidance of Frangi filter

Comparison of genetic and health risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants

Congratulations to Christina Choi for her USC Provost Research Fellowship! Christina will work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on her project.

“My study uses advanced brain imaging to explore whether problems with the brain’s waste-clearing system are linked to early buildup of a protein called alpha-synuclein and changes in dopamine function—both of which may play a role in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Identifying such correlations could help establish novel biomarkers for early PD progression.”

Congratulations also to Andrew Kim for his Parkinson’s Foundation grant! Andrew will also work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on his project.

“My project investigates the role of the brain’s glymphatic system in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). By analyzing imaging data, I aim to identify whether dysfunction in this waste-clearance system correlates with dopamine loss and clinical symptoms. If successful, this research could establish glymphatic function as a novel biomarker for early diagnosis and potential therapeutic intervention in PD.”

Students from Occidental College visited the Institute as a part of their computational neuroscience course. They gained firsthand exposure to our cutting-edge neuroimaging technologies and discussed data science applications in brain research. The visit offers a unique opportunity to engage with our faculty and explore real-world applications of computational methods in neuroscience.

USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

Keck School of Medicine of USC

University of Southern California

323-44-BRAIN (323-442-7246)

USC Mark and Mary Stevens

Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

USC Mark and Mary Stevens

Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, was selected as the 2025 OHBM Open Science Award Winner. The award was presented at the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting in Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Jahanshad was recognized for her significant contributions to open science practices in the field of human brain mapping.

With new funding from the National Institute on Aging, Neda Jahanshad, PhD, and our Laboratory of Brain eScience (LoBeS) will utilize AI and brain scans to track the progression of Alzheimer’s disease—and how lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, may help. The goal is to develop personalized, brain-wide prediction tools to guide early treatment and prevention.

Dr. Jahanshad has also been selected to join the global CARE (Cutting Alzheimer’s Risk through Endocrinology) program from Wellcome Leap, a leading organization that funds unconventional scientific breakthroughs. She will lead a groundbreaking three-year project aimed at better understanding how menopause and modifiable lifestyle factors influence brain aging in women.

Dr. Thompson has also been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP). This prestigious honor recognizes individuals whose groundbreaking work has significantly advanced the field of biological psychiatry.

Danny JJ Wang, PhD, played a leading role in the 2025 SMARTA MRI Workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. He led sessions on arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques and data analysis, supporting the workshop’s mission to expand MRI access and training across Africa. His contributions reflect our ongoing commitment to global education, equitable access to imaging technologies, and capacity building in resource-limited settings.

At the 2025 Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) annual meeting, Stevens INI Associate Director Paul M. Thompson, PhD, delivered the prestigious Talairach Lecture, outlining a bold vision for harnessing artificial intelligence and worldwide collaboration to combat brain diseases.

Awarded by our Institute, the 7T MRI Discovery Award supports innovative pilot projects that leverage the power of ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI to advance neuroscience research.

Dr. Fan’s winning proposal focuses on improving care for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which accounts for over 90% of TBI cases seen in hospitals. While considered “mild,” up to 30% of adults with mTBI experience lasting cognitive issues beyond three months. Dr. Fan aims to refine a novel hybrid perfusion and permeability MRI technique at 7T and evaluate its potential to predict cognitive outcomes six months after injury—paving the way for earlier interventions and better long-term care.

Drs. Azevedo and Sati are using advanced brain imaging with 7T MRI to get a closer look at the damage inside MS lesions and how well that tissue might heal. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of non-traumatic neurologic disability in young adults in the US. MS affects people in very different ways, making it hard to predict how the disease will progress or how well someone will respond to treatment. Their work could lead to new ways of using MRI to track disease severity and evaluate treatments in future clinical trials.

Congratulations to Zhaoyang Fan, PhD, Christina Azevedo, MD, MPH, FAAN, and Pascal Sati, PhD, recipients of this year’s 7T MRI Discovery Award!

New research from Victoria R. Tennant, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, has identified a new brain imaging benchmark that may improve how researchers classify biologically meaningful changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, especially in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations. The new study, published in Imaging Neuroscience, is part of the Health and Aging Brain Study–Health Disparities (HABS-HD), a multi-university collaboration led by the University of North Texas Health Science Center and supported by the National Institute on Aging.

A new brain imaging benchmark to classify changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease

We’re proud to share new research from Amaryllis Tsiknia, a PhD candidate in USC’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Meredith N. Braskie, PhD, revealing a significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults. Using neuroimaging data from a large, diverse cohort, the study found that individuals with type 2 diabetes had thinner cortices in regions critical for memory and cognition. These findings underscore the importance of blood sugar management in protecting brain health and highlight the need for tailored interventions across different populations.

A significant link between type 2 diabetes and brain health in older adults

This animation shows how focused ultrasound and tiny microbubbles can temporarily open the brain’s protective barrier, making it easier and safer to deliver treatments directly to the brain without surgery.

Discover how the Stevens INI became a global leader in brain research. Our 10th Anniversary Lookbook offers a stunning visual journey through ten years of innovation, collaboration, and impact—take a look inside!

Using a special type of MRI scan, we found that blood flow in the brain gradually decreases across the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This drop is most noticeable in areas linked to memory and thinking.

Neda Jahanshad, PhD, completed Chapter 33, Multicenter studies and harmonization: Problems, solutions, and open challenges in the new Handbook of Diffusion MR Tractography. Combining diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) across scanners and sites can improve our understanding of the human brain in health and disease. But differences in how the data are collected make it hard to analyze everything together. This chapter examines the origins of these differences, the approaches researchers take to address them, and the challenges that remain as brain imaging studies expand in scope.

Publications by several Institute members were recognized as among the top 10% of most-viewed papers published by Wiley in 2023:

Transformer-based deep learning denoising of single and multi-delay 3D arterial spin labeling

Retinal perfusion is linked to cognition and brain MRI biomarkers in Black Americans

Weakly supervised perivascular spaces segmentation with salient guidance of Frangi filter

Comparison of genetic and health risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants

Congratulations to Christina Choi for her USC Provost Research Fellowship! Christina will work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on her project.

“My study uses advanced brain imaging to explore whether problems with the brain’s waste-clearing system are linked to early buildup of a protein called alpha-synuclein and changes in dopamine function—both of which may play a role in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Identifying such correlations could help establish novel biomarkers for early PD progression.”

Congratulations also to Andrew Kim for his Parkinson’s Foundation grant! Andrew will also work with Hosung Kim, PhD, on his project.

“My project investigates the role of the brain’s glymphatic system in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). By analyzing imaging data, I aim to identify whether dysfunction in this waste-clearance system correlates with dopamine loss and clinical symptoms. If successful, this research could establish glymphatic function as a novel biomarker for early diagnosis and potential therapeutic intervention in PD.”

Students from Occidental College visited the Institute as a part of their computational neuroscience course. They gained firsthand exposure to our cutting-edge neuroimaging technologies and discussed data science applications in brain research. The visit offers a unique opportunity to engage with our faculty and explore real-world applications of computational methods in neuroscience.