Vivash group

Imaging for neurodegenerative diseases

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Our group uses advanced neuroimaging techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), to study neurodegenerative diseases with a particular focus on the development of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Positron emission tomography enables the detection and quantification of proteins non-invasively. Any biologic or pathogenic process can be imaged and measured, subject to the development and validation of a specific radiotracer for the target. The development of amyloid PET has revolutionised the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. We believe that the development and validation of new PET radiotracers targeting pathogenic mechanisms associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as tau and neuroinflammation, can improve both the diagnosis and treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases.

Our Work

Our team collaborates with physicians, biologists, medicinal chemists and radiochemists to develop PET radiotracers for neuroinflammation. We focus on two aspects of neuroinflammation - neuroprotective (M2) microglia targeting the MERTK receptor, and astrogliosis. We use a range of in vitro and in vivo techniques to evaluate potential radiotracers for binding affinity, target specificity, blood brain barrier permeability, benchmarked against current gold standards and post-mortem evaluations.

Our research is divided into three major research themes:

1. The preclinical development of novel PET radiotracers,
2. The clinical evaluation of novel PET and MRI measures as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases, and
3. Clinical trials of sodium selenate as a disease-modifying treatment for tauopathies.

Using neuroimaging to improve the diagnosis and disease tracking is a major focus of the team. Tauopathies are a group of rare, progressive, neurodegenerative diseases characterised by an accumulation of tau within the brain. Due to their relative rarity and lack of diagnostic biomarkers, diagnosis can be delayed for years following symptom onset. Our work seeks to improve the diagnosis of tauopathies, through the identification of imaging and blood-based biomarkers that can support earlier diagnosis of tauopathies.

There are no disease-modifying treatments for tauopathies. Tau accumulation in the brain is thought to be driven by (hyper) phosphorylated tau, as such dephosphorylation of hyperphosphorylated tau presents a potential treatment strategy for tauopathies. Sodium selenate activates protein phosphatase 2 (PP2A), which accounts for over 70% of the brain’s phosphatase activity. Sodium selenate may therefore reduce the levels of hyperphosphorylated tau in the brains of patients with tauopathies, preventing further disease progression. We currently have three active Phase 2 clinical trials (ACTRN12620000236998, ACTRN12620001254987, ACTRN12623000446662) testing sodium selenate. These are nationwide trials being conducted at leading hospitals and research institutes across the country including the Alfred Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Sydney, Box Hill Hospital, and University of Queensland amongst many others.

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Our people

Group Head

Get in touch

Whether you want to be involved in our research, study with us, collaborate with us or donate to our work, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Email us – lucy.vivash@monash.edu

Honours and Postgraduate research projects

Follow us for the latest updates – @LucyVivash