What is your current role in EPAD? 

I am a Project Manager at IXICO plc, and I manage the delivery of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) analysis results on EPAD Longitudinal Cohort Study. IXICO data analysis algorithms quantitatively analyse brain scans, to maximise the information extracted and increase chances of detecting therapy-induced changes in clinical trials. IXICO’s artificial intelligence data analytics will be used to combine imaging with other data captured from EPAD participants, to predict the rate of disease progression in individual participants and identify those people who could benefit from enrolment in clinical trials aimed at preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

What did you do prior to joining EPAD?

I joined the EPAD study on 2016, when the first participants started to be recruited and having MRIs. I have a background on Biomedical Engineering and started working at IXICO in 2014, right after my MSc, in a more technical role. I developed an expertise on the complexities of set-up and training of MRI centres for data acquisition, and used that experience to set-up the majority of the MRI scanners in the study. In 2018 I moved into a position of managing a team that sets up sites and analyses the patient images, which led me to my current role on EPAD.

Tell us a bit about the institution/company/organisation you work for.

IXICO is a company that provides neuroscience expertise and global operations to deliver imaging and digital biomarker analytical services for clinical development, within a framework of regulatory compliance. IXICO values the relationships it has with academia, business and charitable organisations. Only by working together we can advance treatment for neurological diseases. IXICO’s expertise and TrialTracker™ digital platform is being used to standardise the collection and analysis of MRI data on EPAD (as well as PET data on the sister project AMYPAD).

What are your expectations from the EPAD project?

My expectations are that the foundations built/lessons learned from the Longitudinal Cohort Study across the interactions with the impressive number of academic and industry partners will allow for a solid and successful implementation of the adaptive studies. Furthermore, I hope that the output of the work performed by IXICO will have a very positive impact in the set-up and success of the adaptive studies.