Modeling the progression of neurodegenerative disease and its impact on neuronal functioning
Visiting speaker
Christoffer Alexandersen
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Pennsylvania
Past Talk
Hybrid
Wednesday
Jan 29, 2025
Watch video
11:00 am
EST
Virtual
177 Huntington Ave.
11th floor
Devon House
58 St Katharine's Way
London E1W 1LP, UK
Online
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Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are characterized by the spread of toxic proteins through the brain, disrupting neural activity and leading to significant cognitive impairments. Despite extensive research, the mechanisms driving this spread and its impact on neuronal functioning remain poorly understood. In this talk, we present a network-based dynamical systems framework that integrates models of disease progression and neuronal activity into a unified formulation. Our computational approach (i) captures the spatio-temporal progression of disease, (ii) explains empirically-observed changes to neuronal activity, and (iii) proposes a novel role for neuronal activity in shaping disease trajectories.
About the speaker
About the speaker
Dr. Christoffer Alexandersen is a postdoctoral researcher in the Complex Systems Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Dani Bassett. He recently completed a PhD in mathematics at the University of Oxford, under the supervision of Alain Goriely and Christian Bick, with support from the Aker Scholarship. His research focuses on using mathematical modeling to study brain disease, using tools from dynamical systems theory, network science, and Bayesian inference.
Dr. Christoffer Alexandersen is a postdoctoral researcher in the Complex Systems Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Dani Bassett. He recently completed a PhD in mathematics at the University of Oxford, under the supervision of Alain Goriely and Christian Bick, with support from the Aker Scholarship. His research focuses on using mathematical modeling to study brain disease, using tools from dynamical systems theory, network science, and Bayesian inference.