SINAPSE Annual Scientific Meeting

The Brain Health ARC attended the 17th Annual Scientific Meeting for SINAPSE (the Scottish Imaging Network: A Platform for Scientific Excellence) in Stirling last month.  
 
SINAPSE is a consortium of seven Scottish universities encompassing Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, Stirling, and Strathclyde with partners from the NHS and industry. Together, the network has built a Scotland-wide cross-disciplinary community of scientists and clinicians with the shared goal of developing imaging to address global health and wellbeing challenges.  

The meeting showcased abstracts, posters, and keynote speakers with new research from across Scotland, with exhibition stands from Canon, Health Informatics Centre, the University of Dundee, Life MI, NordicNeuroLab, Siemens Healthineers, Tayside Innovation, Medtech Ecosystem, and the Brain Health ARC.  

​Sheena McGowan, Project Manager for the ARC, shared our latest news, including the recent webinar series, seed funding opportunities, and the Bio-Hermes data challenge. ​

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The meeting enabled us to network and spread awareness of the ARC across the triple helix (NHS, academia, and industry) while allowing for one-to-one interactions.   

The first Plenary Session was opened by Dr Magdalena Ietswaart, followed by an introduction from SINAPSE Director Dr Jennifer Macfarlane. We also heard from Dr Najat Salameh and Dr Mathieu Sarracanie from the University of Aberdeen, who introduced their newly opened Centre for Adaptable MRI Technology. Keynote speakers included Dr Ian Wilson, from the National PET Imaging Platform, on “Implementation of a National Total Body PET Platform in the UK: How will NPIP use Total Body PET in research?” and Dr Alan Anderson of Optos, who discussed “Imaging Projects and Initiatives with Optos”.  

The event then hosted a series of “parallel sessions” to ensure everyone in attendance could tailor their experience to align with interests and expertise. The sessions looked at Methods Development with Dr Sergio Dall’Angelo from the University of Aberdeen, Clinical Applications by Dr Isla Barnard from the University of Dundee, and Psychology/Psychiatry with Dr William McGeown from the University of Strathclyde.  

The second half of the day explored the topics of Image Analysis with Dr Nicholas Senn of the University of Aberdeen and ultrasounds with Prof Sandy Cochran of the University of Glasgow.  

The day concluded with an ECR Rising Star talk given by Dr Magda Mustile from the Université Catholique de Louvain on “Mobile brain imaging in Parkinson’s Disease”, and a final keynote from Dr Kathy Ruddy of Queen’s University Belfast on “Advancing Brain-Computer Interfaces from bench to bedside for neurorehabilitation using TMS-Neurofeedback”.  
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The event was a fantastic opportunity to network and discover the latest research happening in Scotland while edging closer to our shared goal of improving the nation’s brain health.  

You can read more about the event here.  

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