Tobey Betthauser lecturing about PET Acquisition with GE Biograph Horizon PET/CT Scanner.

Research Projects

Multicohort study of factors that influence AD biomarker and dementia timing

NIH/NIA R01AG080766

PI: Tobey Betthauser

02/01/2023-11/30/2027

This study aims to identify common factors across existing data from the Washington University Knight ADRC, the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention, the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative that influence the timing of events in Alzheimer’s disease. Variables of interest include, the onset of beta-amyloid pathology, onset of tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and the time between pathology onset and clinical symptoms. This study will also investigate the possible role of social determinant of health including neighborhood disadvantage in affecting the timing of these events across multiple cohorts.

Postmortem Validation of 4D Flow MRI for Neuroimaging

UW-Madison OVCRGE

PI: Tobey BetthauserAntemortem 4D Flow MRI Hemodynamics (magnitude, complex difference, velocity time-averaged, and velocity time-resolved). Postmortem Digital Vessel Pathology.

04/2021 – Ongoing

4D Flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a method developed to characterize the properties of larger vessels during life. This study compares antemortem 4D Flow imaging with postmortem characterization of cerebral vessels to understand the correspondence between vessel pathology and vessel health, and antemortem 4D flow MRI outcomes.

Postmortem Validation of Tau PET Ligand [18F]MK6240

Visual of Antemortem 18F-MK-6240 to Postmortem 3H-MK-6240 Autoradiography and Tau Immunofluorescence.

UW-Madison OVCRGE

PI: Tobey Betthauser

06/2021 – Ongoing

In collaboration with Dr. Milos Ikonomovic at the University of Pittsburgh, this study compares antemortem tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with [18F]MK-6240 with postmortem validation and quantification of tau, amyloid, and other brain pathologies to understand the molecular signature of [18F]MK-6240 that drives in vivo tau PET imaging.