Events Calendar

Analyzing Brain Images, Connectomes, & Genomes from 26,000 People: The ENIGMA Consortium

Speaker: Paul Thompson, University of Southern California

Talk Title: Analyzing Brain Images, Connectomes, & Genomes from 26,000 People: The ENIGMA Consortium

Abstract: Our ENIGMA Consortium unites 125 brain imaging and genetics centers worldwide in a global effort to discover factors that help or harm the human brain. In the largest brain imaging studies ever performed, ENIGMA is screening the genomes and MRI scans of 26,000 people to discover single-letter variants in our DNA that affect our brain integrity and connectivity. First we explain how imaging is normally used to map disease effects on the brain, and how we extend this to gigantic computational searches of genomes, connectomes and images. Next we explain new mathematical methods to analyze images, connectomes and genomes. We relate ENIGMA's worldwide efforts to new directions in cooperative and asynchronous machine learning, and private distributed computation. We show how to adaptively measure brain connectivity to better diagnose disease, using concepts such as Genji symbols, Bell's number, and the Partition Problem in mathematics. This is joint work with my research group at our USC Imaging Genetics Center (http://igc.ini.usc.edu) at the ISI facility in Marina del Rey.

Host: Prof. Richard Leahy

Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Talyia Veal