The PhD defence will be in room 1259, Abels Utsikt - Niels Henrik Abels hus. The host of the session will moderate the technicalities while the chair of the defence will moderate the disputation.
Ex auditorio questions: the chair of the defence will invite the audience to ask questions ex auditorio at the end of the defence.
- Submit request to access (available from 13th of June 1:15 pm until 27th of June 1:15 pm)
Trial lecture
27th of June, time: 10:15 am, room 1259.
Main research findings
Most forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, are incurable and their causes are not properly understood. In recent years, it has been suggested that the cerebrospinal fluid, a water-like fluid that surrounds the brain, may play a crucial role in the development of various types of dementia. According to this idea, the cerebrospinal fluid enters and leaves the brain and thereby clears it from waste molecules. The physical mechanisms, by which this occurs, are still not understood. In my thesis, I have used and developed mathematical tools to gain more insight about these mechanisms.
First, I have performed simulations and compared them to special magnetic resonance images from the Rikshospitalet in Oslo. This allows to test different ideas about how molecules move in and out of the brain. It is found that this happens faster than by diffusion alone. This supports the notion that additional processes play a significant role.
Second, I have tested and developed new mathematical methods that simplify the simulation workflow. This will help researchers to gain more insight into the human brain via simulations in the future.
Adjudication committee
- Associate Professor Luca Dede, Politecnico Milano
- Researcher Sara Qvarlander, Umeå University
- Associate Professor Håkon Andreas Hoel, University of Oslo
Supervisors
- Professor Kent-Andre Mardal, University of Oslo
- Dr. Simon Wolfgang Funke, Deeptech Consulting AS
- Dr. Miroslav Kuchta, Simula
- Dr. Geir Andre Ringstad, Oslo University Hospital
Chair of defence
Professor Erlend Fornæss Wold
Host of the session
Associate Professor Håkon Andreas Hoel, University of Oslo