Double win for UCL at Shape of Science Symposium

Links:

ion.ucl.ac.uk/" target="_self">UCL Institute of Neurology

UCL Epidemiology and Public Health

UCL staff won first and second prize in a poster presentation competition at the Shape of Science Symposium in Manchester.

Dr Damon Hoad, from the UCL Institute of Neurology, took the top honour with his poster on 'Shaping the brain - Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to study and modulate neuroplasticity'.

Dr Hoad said: "Neuroplasticity describes the processes by which the brain may change to improve its performance. Elite athletes have mastered neuroplastic change through training to perfect a movement or skill. We use simple brain stimulation and imaging techniques to observe these changes in the brain. The lessons learned from studying elite athletes then help us to develop stimulation protocols for treating patients with brain injuries."

Second prize went to PhD student Dorina Cadar, from UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, for her poster entitled 'Is the freedom from cognitive impairment really at hand? An investigation between alcohol consumption and cognitive decline'.

She said: "We aim to investigate the effect of alcohol consumption and behaviour during the life course on cognitive decline in midlife, using a British national representative sample. Our results fit with the J-curve model based on the principle that non-consumption confers a higher cognitive decline risk than minimum or moderate drinking."

The competition was open to pre- and post-doctoral researchers from across the UK and Europe.

For more information about the UCL Institute of Neurology or UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, follow the links above.

Image: One of the images used in Dr Damon Hoad's winning poster presentation.

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