FANS Science Meeting - November

ABOUT FANS SCIENCE MEETINGS

The Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences (FANS) hosts a range of seminars, training programmes and events open to staff, students and the wider public. The FANS Science Meetings are a series of seminars providing our invited internal and external speakers with the opportunity to present the latest research and developments from across the field. The meetings are also a lively forum for all to exchange knowledge and ideas and build connections across the department and beyond.

MEETING FOCUS

Talk 1: Understanding early brain development in Down Syndrome - The eBiDs Study - Dr Ana Baburamani

Down syndrome (DS), is the most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability; associated with cognitive deficits and impairments in speech, motor and language functions. Intellectual development in infants with DS slows with age, but structural impairments in brain development have been observed as early as mid-gestation. However, we still lack a detailed understanding of the very early neurodevelopmental trajectory in DS. The eBiDS Study aims to use optimised MRI protocols to assess fetal and neonatal brain growth and identify histological correlates in cortical development in both human and mouse models of DS.

Ana is a post-doc in the Centre for the Developing Brain, KCL. Her research focuses on investigating the brain phenotypes that occur in DS early in life to improve our understanding of the genotype/phenotype relationship in DS.

Talk 2: Exploring neurobiological differences and heterogeneity in ASD - Dr Charlotte Pretzsch

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogenous condition that is still rather poorly understood, and there are no effective pharmacological treatments for its core symptoms. In this talk, Charlotte will present her doctoral research exploring the impact of the potential treatment candidate cannabidiol (CBD) on key brain systems. Charlotte will also outline her current research within the AIMS-2-TRIALS network. This work addresses the heterogeneity in ASD by examining neurobiological subgroups and their potential to predict clinical outcomes in this condition. 

Charlotte is a postdoctoral research associate in the FANS department (IoPPN). Her research focuses on the identification and validation of multimodal neurobiological and behavioural biomarkers in ASD.

Click here to view the event poster

This event is open to all King's College London staff, students and the wider community. For more information please contact: marija-magdalena.petrinovic@kcl.ac.uk

Email: fansevents@kcl.ac.uk to register your attendance.

ABOUT FANS

FANS is one of Europe’s largest research groups and one of the few teams in the world bringing together leading experts in brain development and pro and antisocial behaviours across the lifespan.  We are part of the IOPPN, world-renowned for the quality of its research and for producing more highly cited publications in psychiatry and mental health (Scopus, 2016) than any other university in the world.