Neurobiology of Ageing
- +44(0)1865 618212 | Whitehall: +44(0)1865 618213 (fax +44 (0)1865 793101)
- mandy.pipkin@psych.ox.ac.uk
Founded in 2007
1200+ Publications
800/800 Whitehall Volunteer Scans (1/12/16)
Funded by EU, MRC, NIHR, ARUK and Parkinson’s UK
Why do some people suffer from depression and memory loss as they age, whereas others stay well for the whole of their lives? We examine the effect of genes and life history on ageing using neuropsychology and neuro-imaging techniques as part of large scale epidemiological and experimental medicine studies.
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You find us here (with some photos and maps)
If mental health fails in older age, a large number of factors may be responsible: we aim to isolate these using a variety of large and small-scale studies that use all possible methods of enquiry, from clinical interviews and medical examination to neuropsychology and brain imaging.
This outstanding proposal aims to integrate state-of-the-art brain measures .. on the newest generation of clinical use MR scanners .. with data from a very important, well published longitudinal epidemiologic study.Anon. (MRC Referee)
We have teamed up with the Whitehall Study at UCL and the Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB) to examine 800 of their volunteers, who have been followed up 2-yearly for the last 25 years (see quote). Whitehall Imaging Oxford is participant in the EU Horizon 2020 Project Lifebrain.
Lifebrain News
We are also part of the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre and the Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Our focus of interest is on the interaction of genetic, environmental, social and psychological factors that confer risk and resilience on people as they age. We are also interested in enhancing brain plasticity and resilience by means of exercise, transcranial stimulation and pharmacology.
Our imaging, cognitive and psychiatric research aims to investigate emerging evidence of the brain architecture that enables individuals to compensate cognitively and emotionally, particularly with advancing age.
The wider Old Age Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Ageing theme is comprised of three research groups:
Neurobiology of Ageing, led by Klaus Ebmeier
Translational Neuroscience and Dementia Research, led by Sir Simon Lovestone
Translational Neuroimaging, led by Clare Mackay
Our team
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Melis Anatürk
DPhil Candidate in Psychiatry
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Sophie Behrman
Honorary Clinical Research Fellow
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Naiara Demnitz
DPhil student
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Klaus Ebmeier
Foundation Chair of Old Age Psychiatry
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Nicola Filippini
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
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Jane Fossey
Associate Director of Psychological Services Oxford Health NHS FT
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Ludovica Griffanti
Postdoctoral Research Assistant
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Ivan Koychev
Clinical Lecturer
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Simon Lovestone
Professor of Translational Neuroscience
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Clare Mackay
Professor of Imaging Neuroscience
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Rupert McShane
Dementia Clinical Network Lead - Oxford Academic Health Science Network
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Clare O'Donoghue
DPhil Student
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Amanda Pipkin
Research Co-ordinator & PA Prof Klaus Ebmeier
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Claire Sexton
Researcher
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Sana Suri
Postdoctoral research associate
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Anya Topiwala
Senior Clinical Researcher
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Philip Wilkinson
Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer
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Giovanna Zamboni
Senior Clinical Fellow
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Enikő Zsoldos
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Taking part
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How do I get involved in research?
Information for volunteers
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Training for Undergraduate Students
Apart from bedside teaching, there will be three lectures in 5th year, given by Dr Anya Topiwala "Dementia", by Dr Ivan Koychev "Interesting cases", and by Prof Klaus Ebmeier "Late-life depression"
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Training for Graduate Students
We welcome graduate students from a wide range of disciplines including medicine, neuroscience and psychology. The resources of FMRIB, the Department of Psychiatry and the University of Oxford provide a wide-range of training opportunities.
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Continuing Professional Development (Old Age Psychiatry)
... but we also meet regularly. We organise continuing professional development in old age psychiatry and allied profession for Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. For the current programme, please go to 'Meetings' at the top of page.
Research Programmes
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Whitehall Imaging Oxford
We are proud to announce that we have now imaged 800 participants (about 12% of the Whitehall II sample) and have achieved our target on time (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03335696). Data collected during this study will be analysed by researchers at the University of Oxford in collaboration with Whitehall II study researchers at University College London over the next couple years, before becoming available (in an anonymised form) to other researchers. Results will be published over the following years. Participants will receive updates of the most recent findings with the Whitehall II newsletter between the clinic appointments. You can also read more about the study and its findings on this site.
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Improving lifelong cognitive health through physical exercise and cognitive stimulation
The human brain has a remarkable capacity to learn and adapt. This ability is strongly influenced by many factors, including how active we are - both physically and mentally.
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Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre
The Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre (OPDC) is a grouping of scientists and clinicians launched in February 2010 following the award of the Monument Trust Discovery Award to Oxford University
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Oxford Dementia and Ageing Research
Oxford Dementia and Ageing Research is a consortium of clinical and basic scientists who work on various aspects of translational dementia and ageing research
Announcements
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Healthy Minds from 0-100 years: Optimising the use of European brain imaging cohorts
As part of EU Horizon 2020, we intend to integrate 11 longitudinal mostly population-based cohort studies investigating cognitive and mental health across the life-span (n=18 500). Many subjects (n=6000) underwent MRI examinations (40 000 exams) in addition to clinical cognitive and mental health data and genetic sampling. We plan to link those databases to national databases (registries), biobanks and data from other large studies
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Whitehall II Study 30th Anniversary Celebration Event
2015 marked the 30th anniversary of the Whitehall II Study. To celebrate the achievements of the past 30 years, a one-day celebration event was held at UCL on Wednesday 25th November 2015. Over 150 people attended including Whitehall researchers, collaborators and a representative group of participants from the Whitehall II cohort. The link leads to the day's talks and presentations
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We are available for media comment
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