Sepideh Shokouhi, PhD

Dr. Shokouhi is a recognized authority in nuclear medicine imaging. Her current research includes development of novel multi-modal (PET and MRI) biomarker concepts and pharmacologic-imaging methodologies in degenerative brain disorders and treatment evaluation with special emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She is a co-investigator (PI: Newhouse) on a phase IIa clinical trial that investigates the effects of highly selective M1-positive allosteric modulators (PAM) on Network Connectivity. Dr. Shokouhi has pioneered innovative data analysis concepts for characterizing early functional and pathological changes in individuals who have self-reported cognitive complaints but don’t show clinical symptoms of dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The long term goal of her research is to understand the biological basis of subjective cognitive decline which is increasingly recognized as the first self-perceived sign of preclinical AD and a precursor to MCI. Other active areas of research include characterization of sleep/wake architecture and autonomic activity measurement with advanced research-grade wearable devices to explore associations between sleep/wake disruption and tau and amyloid pathologies in normal aging and MCI.  The clinical implications of her findings include validating patient-specific patterns of sleep/wake activity as an early, non-invasive, and affordable biomarker to characterize an individual’s latent pathological profile.  This information will, in turn, help identify treatment and prevention strategies that are most likely effective by accounting for the characteristics of each patient.