2019

 Esther  Janssen – MSc Biomedical Sciences – Psychopharmacology and Pathophysiology student, Radboud Univesity Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

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During my MSc Biomedical Sciences – Psychopharmacology and Pathophysiology I had the opportunity to go to Edinburgh for 8 months to do a research internship. During my first MSc internship at the Radboud UMC in Nijmegen, I examined the use of ultra-high field MRI in Small Vessel Disease (SVD). After that, I wanted to continue working in SVD research and I had the opportunity to be supervised by Professor Joanna Wardlaw, an expert in this field. In my 8 months in Edinburgh I focused on imaging in the Lacunar Intervention Trial-1 (LACI-1) study, a study that was conducted to examine the effects of cilostazol and isosorbide mononitrate in SVD. I learned how to examine cerebrovascular reactivity and pulsatility using MRI and how to interpret these results. Moreover, Professor Wardlaw taught me how to rate SVD severity in stroke patients on MRI scans. I really enjoyed working with this group and I learned a lot about MRI analysis and SVD. I even had the opportunity to present the results of my research project at the Fondation Leducq Network Meeting in Paris, which was a great experience with presenting my work in front of an international audience.

After coming back to the Netherlands, I started working as a research assistant at the Psychiatry department of the Amsterdam UMC. This research is focused on the optimal use of antidepressants in depressed patients. Although I enjoyed doing this, I missed doing my own research. Also, I wanted to continue working in the SVD field. Therefore I’m starting a PhD in January at the Neurology department in Nijmegen, under the guidance of Frank-Erik de Leeuw. My project here is called ‘The hyperintense study’ and will focus on examining early signs of SVD on MRI in subjects with hypertension in midlife. I am excited to get started and I think that the skills I gained in Edinburgh will be of great use here!

Publication

Hamilton [...] Janssen et al (2021) Cognitive impairment in sporadic cerebral small vessel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Angela Jochems – MSc student Neuroscience & Cognition, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

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As part of my MSc Neuroscience & Cognition at Utrecht University, I came to Edinburgh for a 6-month research internship from February 2019 until the 31st of August 2019. This internship was partly funded by Alzheimer Nederland. My project, entitled ‘the relationship between venules and perivascular spaces in small vessel diseases’, was supervised by Prof Joanna Wardlaw and Dr Maria Valdes Hernandez. The aim of the project was to examine the spatial relationship between venules and perivascular spaces, using a visual venular rating method which was developed as part of the project. It was a very interesting project and taught me so much about imaging analysis and the use of MRI. A part of the work was eventually published as a paper at the beginning of 2020.

I also had the opportunity to present part of my research during the Fondation Leducq Network Meeting in Paris, which was a great experience in presenting my research in front of an international audience with experts in the field of small vessel disease.

Prior to the MSc in Neuroscience & Cognition, I finished my BSc in Psychology and MSc in Healthcare Psychology with a specialisation in Clinical Neuropsychology. As part of both MScs, I conducted research in the fields of dementia and vascular cognitive impairment. After finishing my internship I graduated from Utrecht University and started work as a psychologist in the Netherlands.

As of March 2020, I am a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh within the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, supervised by Prof Joanna Wardlaw and Dr Susana Muñoz Maniega.

Publication

Jochems et al (2020). Relationship Between Venules and Perivascular Spaces in Sporadic Small Vessel Diseases. 

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Kim Wiegertjes - Erasmus+  PhD Student, Radboud Univesity Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

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I am a PhD student from the Nijmegen, the Netherlands. After doing a BSc in Psychology, and an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, I became more interested in doing clinical research. Therefore, I started my PhD project investigating MRI biomarkers of cerebral small vessel disease under the guidance of Karin Klijn and Frank-Erik de Leeuw at the Neurology department of the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen. I have always wanted to live abroad for a while, for which a PhD project provides a perfect opportunity. Therefore I secured funding through the Erasmus+ program for PhD students and planned my stay at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh from 01 Oct to 31 Dec 2019.   As I have been specifically interested in clinical research projects combined with neuroimaging, we designed my project using data from the REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART), in collaboration with experts in the field of clinical neurology (Professor Rustam Al-Shahi Salman) and brain imaging (Professor Joanna Wardlaw). The aim of this project was to investigate the role of diffusion-weighted imaging lesions in the prediction of the risk of recurrent stroke in survivors of intracerebral haemorrhage with versus without antiplatelet therapy. As there are currently no established clinical guidelines on whether to resume antithrombotic medication in patients with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage and an indication for antithrombotics, this project has yielded new insight into whether MRI biomarkers of SVD can guide the decision whether or not to restart antiplatelet medication after intracerebral haemorrhage. In this project, I got the chance to work with world-leading experts in my research field at an early stage in my career. In addition, the experience of living and working abroad has contributed to my personal development as well and to my ambition of becoming an independent researcher, which will be of high value in my future career.

Publications

Best [...] Wiegertjes et al (2021) Development of imaging-based risk scores for prediction of intracranial haemorrhage and ischaemic stroke in patients taking antithrombotic therapy after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack: a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies.

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Wilson [...] Wiegertjes et al (2019) Cerebral microbleeds and stroke risk after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack: a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies

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