Multidimensional analysis of the nervous system in health and disease (µNeuro).

Neuropathological research is an interdisciplinary field, in which imaging and image-guided interventions have become indispensable. However, the rapid proliferation of ever-more inquisitive technologies and the different scales at which they operate have created a bottleneck at the level of integration, a) of the diverse image data sets, and b) of multimodal image information with omics-based and clinical repositories. To meet a growing demand for holistic interpretation of multi-scale (molecule, cell, organ(oid), organism) and multi-layered (imaging, omics, chemo-physical) information on (dys)function of the central and peripheral nervous system, we have conceived μNEURO, a consortium comprising eight established teams with complementary expertise in neurology, biomedical and microscopic imaging, electrophysiology, functional genomics and advanced data analysis. The goal of μNEURO is to expedite neuropathological research and identify pathogenic mechanisms in neurodevelopmental and -degenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's Disease, epilepsy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease) on a cell-to-organism wide scale. Processing large spatiotemporally resolved image data sets and cross-correlating multimodal images with targeted perturbations takes center stage. Furthermore, inclusion of (pre)clinical teams will accelerate translation to a clinical setting and allow scrutinizing clinical cases with animal and cellular models. As knowledge-hub for neuro-oriented image-omics, μNEURO will foster advances for the University and community including i) novel insights in molecular pathways of nervous system disorders; ii) novel tools and models that facilitate comprehensive experimentation and integrative analysis; iii) improved translational pipeline for discovery and validation of novel biomarkers and therapeutic compounds; iv) improved visibility, collaboration and international weight fueling competitive advantage for large multi-partner research projects.

Keywords:NEURO MRI, IMAGE ANALYSIS, DATA ANALYSIS, NEURODEGENERATION

Disciplines:Signal processing not elsewhere classified, Neurological and neuromuscular diseases, Neurophysiology, Cancer biology