Timothy M. Shepherd, MD, PhD

I am seeking to understand the how the structural and functional organization of medial temporal lobe structures and cerebral cortex are affected by diseases, such as epilepsy and Alzheimer?s disease. My approach is to use ex vivo MRI microscopy, advanced coil technology and ultra-high-field MRI of clinical patients to study human cerebral cortex and medial temporal lobe structures in normal and diseased states. The thesis of this research is that early changes to the functional organization of these structures can be detected by emerging MRI techniques during the preclinical stages of disease. This translational research focus could have an important impact on the contributions of neuroradiology to clinical management of patients, while also altering our fundamental understanding of local neuronal network organization in important brain substructures, such as the hippocampus.