29 July 2015: Neuroscience is one of the fastest developing fields with intensive research being carried out globally to understand brain functions and overcoming neurological and psychiatric illnesses. Quite a lot of investments have been made in the last financial year to explore newer technologies to aid drug development and non-invasive therapies like neuromodulation and deep brain stimulation. With new developments in imaging, neuroinformatics and animal models taking place, the next step is to see how these will positively impact diagnosis and treatments of neurological disorders.
Neuroscience R&D Technologies Conference to be held on 3 - 4 December 2015 in Barcelona, Spain will gather global neuroscience experts to discuss such advances in brain imaging, neuroinformatics, animal models, neurogames and neuromodulation among others. Case studies and presentations at the conference will be delivered by organizations such as Roche, Alzheimer’s UK, Human Brain Project, H. Lundbeck, Martinos Center, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squib, Imperial College of London, UCB Biopharma and Cambridge University among others.
One of the key speakers at the conference is Marcus Kaiser, Associate Professor In Neuroinformatics - Newcastle University who will be speaking on ‘computational models informing diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases’ focussing briefly on models of brain structure based on connectome information, models of brain dynamics using computer simulations and predicting drug treatment outcomes using simulations of local brain tissue. He is initiator and co-director of the Wellcome Trust PhD programme in Systems Neuroscience, leader of the UK INCF Special Interest Group in Image-based Neuroinformatics and leader of Neuroinformatics research at Newcastle University.
In a short interview with Marcus Kaiser we asked him a few questions about the latest developments in neuroscience and his presentation topic. Talking about the advances he said, “The human brain consists of connections between neurons at the local level and of connections between brain regions at the global level. The study of the entire network, the connectome, has become a recent focus in neuroscience research. Recent advances in MRI neuroimaging, using diffusion tensor imaging, allow us to observe how the human brain network differs over ages or between patients and healthy controls”. He further added “Altogether, this information about the human connectome allows us to build detailed computational models of brain function within individual subjects or patients. Even within a brain disease such as epilepsy, the exact pattern of anatomical changes varies between patients and so does the effectiveness of treatments. Using connectome-based computer models will help us in establishing a more accurate diagnosis and a better prediction of the most suitable treatment”.
Various other topics will also be covered at the conference such as how computational drug response models are applied in neuroscience research, using Insilco approaches to reduce use of animals for research, translational imaging technologies helping early go/no-go decisions in drug development programs, advances in translational animal models driving neuroscience research , a simulated mouse brain in a virtual mouse body, development and applications of optogenetics in neuroscience R&D, efficient patient stratification strategies in neuroscience clinical trials and akili collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies for neuroscience trials. The conference will be a great platform to meet global industry experts, share expertise and stay updated with the latest advancements in neuroscience.
Media Contact:
Ajay Nimbalkar
Assistant Manager | Conference Marketing
MnM Conferences
T: +9120 6704 6816 | ajay.nimbalkar@mnmconferences.com
