For questions about this event, please reach out to Veronica Lemme at lemmev@health.missouri.edu.

"Human Neurochemistry in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease"

Presented by: Dr. Melissa Terpstra, Professor, Department of Radiology; Director, NextGen Imaging, University of Missouri

Date: Dec. 5, 2022, 4-5 p.m.

Location: Tom and Linda Atkins Family Seminar Room, Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building

Virtual option available

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Description

This presentation will show how Dr. Terpstra has uncovered tiny signals in magnetic resonance spectra (MRS) using ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 7 Tesla) in the living human brain. Dr. Terpstra discovered and optimized techniques to measure signals from vitamin C and other antioxidants and neurotransmitters noninvasively. She will show how she has applied this technology to study aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Terpstra also will talk about her work in the nationwide Human Connectome Project on Aging (HCPA), which collected structural, functional and diffusion images from over 1,000 individuals. With an accompanying R01, she has acquired MRS data, and MRS will be part of the upcoming nationwide project, the Adult Aging Brain Connectome. These consortia also collect extensive health, behavioral, cognitive and COVID data.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Terpstra has a PhD in medical physics and is an expert on uncovering tiny signals in magnetic resonance spectra (MRS) using ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Notably, she discovered and optimized techniques to measure signals from vitamin C and other antioxidants and neurotransmitters noninvasively from the human brain using MRI. She launched her independent career by applying this technology to study aging and Alzheimer’s disease via sustained funding from the National Institutes of Health. Furthermore, she continues to study the reliability of in vivo human brain MRS technique. Dr. Terpstra is a principal investigator on the nationwide Human Connectome Project on Aging (HCPA), which collected structural, functional and diffusion images from over 1,000 individuals. With an accompanying R01, she acquired MRS data from her local HCPA cohort, and MRS will be part of the upcoming nationwide project, the Adult Aging Brain Connectome. These consortia also collect extensive health, behavioral, cognitive and COVID data. Dr. Terpstra reviews for several journals and study sections at the National Institutes of Health. She has experience using in vivo MRS to study cancer. As director of the NextGen imaging facility, Dr. Terpstra will expand her leadership role and collaborate in new areas.