Baycrest Health Sciences & Baycrest Foundation Publications
Issue link: http://baycrest.uberflip.com/i/218229
ON THE TECHNOLOGICAL FRONTIER Scan this QR code with your smartphone Dr. Randy McIntosh Vice-President of Research, BAYCREST Director, Rotman Research Institute Senior Scientist Reva James Leeds Chair in Neuroscience and Research Leadership Mind Mapping Dr. Randy McIntosh is currently leading a multimillion dollar project to construct the world's first "virtual" brain. The massive 10-year project, which sees the Rotman Research Institute partnering with a team of international neuroscientists, will create a detailed atlas of all the functional networks of the brain. The project involves uploading vast amounts of data from thousands of human brains, ranging from children to the elderly. Gathered from magnetic resonance images combined with sophisticated mathematical models, the data will map the interplay between different brain areas during mental tasks such as thinking, seeing or feeling. In addition to data from healthy brains, information from individuals with brain damage or disease will be incorporated to show how the brain recovers from cognitive impairment caused by stroke, epilepsy or Alzheimer's disease – potentially transforming how we assess and treat brain disorders in the future. research.baycrest.org/viewbook Dr. Jean Chen Scientist A CLEARER VIEW Despite the best research efforts, the causes of aging-related illnesses such as dementia still remain unclear, and to date there is no cure. As lead investigator of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Lab at Baycrest, Dr. Jean Chen is working on developing improved methodologies for fMRI technology, and employing this advanced imaging technology to study aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Among her areas of focus, Dr. Chen and her research team are investigating the roles of neurovascular, metabolic and structural health for maintaining brain function, and how these aspects are affected by disease. Dr. Chen's lab also works closely with other RRI researchers to apply fMRI techniques to the study of various aspects of brain health, with the goal of expanding our understanding of the processes and functions of the brain, and translating that knowledge into new and better therapies.