image: UVA professor of electrical and computer engineering Mathews Jacob.
Credit: Tom Daly
University of Virginia professor Mathews Jacob has secured a $3.9 million grant to advance his innovative research on detecting Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. Jacob, who specializes in electrical and computer engineering, is teaming up with researchers from the University of Iowa and the University of California-San Francisco to push the boundaries of imaging technology that tracks the brain’s metabolic changes — offering a fresh perspective on studying neurodegenerative disorders.
Their focus is on advancing magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). Unlike standard MRI, which primarily highlights structural changes, MRSI digs deeper into the brain’s chemistry to reveal subtle shifts that could signal early signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia. However, current MRSI techniques face challenges like low resolution and sensitivity, which restrict their clinical use.
The team’s mission is to enhance this technology, aiming for clearer images and more precise data. By fine-tuning MRSI to better target specific brain areas, they hope to transform it into a crucial tool for diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases much earlier than we can today. This breakthrough could enable doctors to screen for Alzheimer’s and other disorders before symptoms even surface, paving the way for earlier and more effective treatments.
"By detecting the subtle changes in brain metabolism early in the disease, we hope to give doctors a powerful tool to intervene earlier, which could make a profound difference in treatment outcomes and patients' lives," said Jacob.
Jacob’s project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, will span five years. His co-principal investigators include Vincent Magnotta, professor of radiology at the University of Iowa, and Yan Li, associate professor of radiology at UCSF. Together, they aim to bring new clarity to how metabolic changes in the brain relate to Alzheimer’s, with the hope of improving both diagnosis and patient care.
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