Population Neuroscience & Dementia

The USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences is pleased to welcome Prof. Caterina Rosano, of the Department of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Valentina Garibotto of the Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics at the University of Geneva. The speakers will give a public conference on "Population Neuroscience and Dementia".

The speakers will share their works on the approach to population neuroscience, interconnecting the fields of epidemiology, geriatric medicine, neuroimaging and neurology (Prof. Rosano) as well as the ongoing efforts to build evidence on the analytical and clinical validity of amyloid and tau PET tracers, the main pathological hallmarks in Alzheimer’s disease (Dr. Garibotto).

The conference is open to USI students from all disciplines (Master, PhD, Post-doctoral researchers), Neurocento staff, and everyone interested in the fields of aging, dementia and neurobiology. The talk will be held in English, and will be introduced by Prof. Emiliano Albanese of USI. 

Abstract:

The conference aims to introduce the notion of Population neuroscience and on linking different methodologies from one field to the other in order to investigate healthy and impaired cognitive function in older age. The talk will also demonstrate examples of ongoing multi-centre research on a global level and in the Swiss context, from Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne, that aims to explore molecular imaging techniques to identify reliable biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in the population.

Brief Bio:

Caterina Rosano: Prof. Rosano is a physician-scientist and neuro-epidemiologist investigating the mechanisms underlying physical and cognitive independence in older adults. Prof. Rosano is the founding director of the Specialization in Neuroepidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh and is now leading a new training program in Population Neuroscience.

Valentina Garibotto: after training in Italy and Germany, Dr. Garibotto now conducts clinical research at the Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland and leads the neuroimaging and innovative molecular tracers laboratory. Her laboratory, in collaboration with international centres, uses molecular imaging to understand how Alzheimer's disease develops and to identify targets to stop or delay disease progression.