Principal Investigator
Robert Paul, Ph.D., ABPP-CN (profile link)
Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Director, Missouri Institute of Mental Health
PI: Neuropsychology and Applied Neuroimaging Laboratory (NAN)
Project Vision/Summary
The NAN lab at the University of Missouri, St. Louis aims to transform clinical brain science through application of high resolution neuroimaging, biometrics, and neurocognitive phenotyping. We prioritize discovery of neuropathogenic mechanisms and markers of resilience that correspond to neuroimaging signatures and neurocognitive pattern analysis. Our vision is to create robust predictive models of brain function using artificial intelligence methodology to support precision clinical diagnosis, personalized treatment, and pathways to cures for common brain disorders.
A recent outcome from the NAN lab includes the first ever in vivo quantification of brain white matter fiber bundle length as a biomarker of cognitive integrity (Figures 1 and 2).1-2 We also resolved a critical controversy in the scientific literature centered on the Tat protein C31S polymorphism as a biomarker of neurovirulence and subsequent decline in brain health.3-4 We are currently extending these outcomes through integration of chemokine co-receptor tropism and novel immunophenotyping methods.
Figure 1 (left): DTI reconstruction of the anterior thalamic radiation. Figure 2 (right): DTI reconstruction of the corpus callosum
Acknowledgements
Scientific Collaborators:
Victor Valcour, MD, PhD; University of California, San Francisco
Lishomwa Ndhlovu, MD, PhD; University of Hawaii, John Burns School of Medicine
Soe Mar, MD; Washington University School of Medicine
Kyaw Linn, MD; Myanmar Pediatric Society
Robert Brooks, PhD; Harvard Refugee Program 2
Tom Conturo, MD, PhD; Washington University School of Medicine
David Laidlaw, PhD; Brown Medical School
Ryan Cabeen, PhD; University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Serena Spudich, MD; Yale School of Medicine
Jintanat Ananworanich, MD; Henry Jackson Medical Research Foundation
Umit Tokac, PhD; University of Missouri, St. Louis
Kyu Cho, MS; University of Missouri, St. Louis
Funding Agencies: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
References
1. Baker LM, Laidlaw DH, Conturo TE, Hogan J, Zhao Y, Luo X, Correia S, Cabeen R, Lane EM, Heaps JM, Bolzenius J, Paul RH. White matter changes with age utilizing quantitative diffusion MRI. Neurology. 2014 Jul 15;83(3):247-52.
2. Behrman-Lay AM, Usher C, Conturo TE, Correia S, Laidlaw DH, Lane EM, Bolzenius J, Heaps JM, Salminen LE, Baker LM, Cabeen R. Fiber bundle length and cognition: a length-based tractography MRI study. Brain imaging and behavior. 2015 Dec;9(4):765-75.
3. Paul RH, Phillips S, Hoare J, Laidlaw DH, Cabeen R, Olbricht GR, Su Y, Stein DJ, Engelbrecht S, Seedat S, Salminen LE. Neuroimaging abnormalities in clade C HIV are independent of Tat genetic diversity. Journal of neurovirology. 2017 Apr;23(2):319-28.
4. Paul RH, Joska JA, Woods C, Seedat S, Engelbrecht S, Hoare J, Heaps J, Valcour V, Ances B, Baker LM, Salminen LE. Impact of the HIV Tat C30C31S dicysteine substitution on neuropsychological function in patients with clade C disease. Journal of neurovirology. 2014 Dec;20(6):627.