Paul Thompson (neuroscientist)

Last updated
Paul Thompson
Born (1971-06-13) 13 June 1971 (age 52)
Alma materOxford University
University of California, Los Angeles
Known forENIGMA Project
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience
InstitutionsUniversity of Southern California
Website USC/Paul Thompson

Paul Thompson (born 13 June 1971) is a professor of neurology at the Imaging Genetics Center at the University of Southern California. [1] [2] Thompson obtained a bachelor's degree in Greek and Latin languages and mathematics[ citation needed ] from Oxford University. He also earned a master's degree in mathematics from Oxford and a PhD degree in neuroscience from University of California, Los Angeles. [3]

Contents

Thompson specializes in the field of human brain imaging, with research interest in mathematical and computational algorithm development for human brain mapping, and has contributed to more than 900 publications. [4] He currently leads the Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) project, a global data collection and sharing effort designed to understand how brain structure changes during the trajectory of brain atrophy, mental illness and Alzheimer's disease and the underlying genetic landscape. [5] [6]

Research

The ENIGMA Consortium, co-founded by Thompson, performs some of the largest-ever studies of the human brain, analyzing brain scans of more than 50,000 people worldwide. This collaborative group studies 22 brain diseases in 37 countries, focusing on the interaction between brain health and genetics. ENIGMA has published some of the largest-ever neuroimaging studies of schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder. [7] In 2023, Thompson launched the India ENIGMA Initiative, a study of factors that affect brain aging and mental health in India. [8] [9]

Academic career

Thompson began his academic career as an assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), after completing his PhD in neuroscience as a Fulbright Scholar at UCLA. During his time at UCLA, Thompson was promoted to professor in 2010.

In 2013, Thompson moved to the University of Southern California (USC), [10] where he was named director of the USC Imaging Genetics Center and associate director of the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute. [11] He is also a professor in the Keck School of Medicine of USC departments of ophthalmology, neurology, psychiatry and the behavioral sciences, radiology and engineering.

Awards

In 2023, Thompson received the 2023 Pioneer in Medicine Award from the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics. [12]

Impact

Thompson has been named one of “the world’s most influential scientific minds” and a highly cited researcher by Thomson Reuters. In March 2022, he was ranked as the number 181 most cited researcher worldwide based on his whole career h-index of 188 (based on Google Scholar). [13]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience</span> Research institution in London, England

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways to prevent them in the first place. The IoPPN is a faculty of King's College London, England, previously known as the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP).

Neuroinformatics is the field that combines informatics and neuroscience. Neuroinformatics is related with neuroscience data and information processing by artificial neural networks. There are three main directions where neuroinformatics has to be applied:

Richard J. Haier is an American psychologist who has researched a neural basis for human intelligence, psychometrics, general intelligence, and sex and intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan J. Stein</span>

Dan Joseph Stein is a South African psychiatrist who is a professor and Chair of the Dept of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town, and Director of the South African MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders. Stein was the Director of UCT's early Brain and Behaviour Initiative, and was the inaugural Scientific Director of UCT's later Neuroscience Institute. He has also been a visiting professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the United States, and at Aarhus University in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging</span> Laboratory of the University College London

The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at University College London is a world-leading interdisciplinary centre for neuroimaging research based in London, United Kingdom. Researchers at the Centre use expertise to investigate how the human brain generates behaviour, thoughts and feelings and how to use this knowledge to help patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Human neuroimaging allows scientists to non-invasively investigate the brain structure and functions including Action, Decision Making, Emotion, Hearing, Language, Memory, Navigation, Seeing, Self awareness, Social Behaviour and the Bayesian Brain

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Brain Research Centre</span>

National Brain Research Centre is a research institute in Manesar, Gurgaon, India.It is an autonomous institute under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. The institute is dedicated to research in neuroscience and brain functions in health and diseases using multidisciplinary approaches. This is the first autonomous institute by DBT to be awarded by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, formerly known as the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in May 2002. NBRC was dedicated to the nation by the Honorable President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in December 2003. The founder chairman of NBRC Society is Prof. Prakash Narain Tandon, whereas the founder director Prof. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath was followed by Prof. Subrata Sinha and Prof. Neeraj Jain. The current director of NBRC is Prof. Krishanu Ray.

Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is a multisite study that aims to improve clinical trials for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This cooperative study combines expertise and funding from the private and public sector to study subjects with AD, as well as those who may develop AD and controls with no signs of cognitive impairment. Researchers at 63 sites in the US and Canada track the progression of AD in the human brain with neuroimaging, biochemical, and genetic biological markers. This knowledge helps to find better clinical trials for the prevention and treatment of AD. ADNI has made a global impact, firstly by developing a set of standardized protocols to allow the comparison of results from multiple centers, and secondly by its data-sharing policy which makes available all at the data without embargo to qualified researchers worldwide. To date, over 1000 scientific publications have used ADNI data. A number of other initiatives related to AD and other diseases have been designed and implemented using ADNI as a model. ADNI has been running since 2004 and is currently funded until 2021.

The Human Connectome Project (HCP) is a five-year project sponsored by sixteen components of the National Institutes of Health, split between two consortia of research institutions. The project was launched in July 2009 as the first of three Grand Challenges of the NIH's Blueprint for Neuroscience Research. On September 15, 2010, the NIH announced that it would award two grants: $30 million over five years to a consortium led by Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Minnesota, with strong contributions from University of Oxford (FMRIB) and $8.5 million over three years to a consortium led by Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of California Los Angeles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resting state fMRI</span> Type of functional magnetic resonance imaging

Resting state fMRI is a method of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that is used in brain mapping to evaluate regional interactions that occur in a resting or task-negative state, when an explicit task is not being performed. A number of resting-state brain networks have been identified, one of which is the default mode network. These brain networks are observed through changes in blood flow in the brain which creates what is referred to as a blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal that can be measured using fMRI.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to brain mapping:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Thompson-Schill</span> American cognitive psychologist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur W. Toga</span>

Arthur W. Toga is an American neuroscientist and the director of the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) and the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute within the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He is also the Ghada Irani Chair in Neuroscience and provost professor of ophthalmology, neurology, psychiatry and the behavioral sciences, radiology and engineering.

Linda Chang is an American neurologist. She is a professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine and the vice-chair for faculty development at University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Adriana Galván is an American psychologist and expert on adolescent brain development. She is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she directs the Developmental Neuroscience laboratory. She was appointed the Jeffrey Wenzel Term Chair in Behavioral Neuroscience and the Dean of Undergraduate Education at UCLA.

Lucina Q. Uddin is an American cognitive neuroscientist who is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research investigates the relationship between brain connectivity and cognition in typical and atypical development using network neuroscience approaches.

References

  1. Totten, Sanden (May 10, 2013). "Brain transplant: UCLA's LONI neuro imaging lab is moving to USC". www.scpr.org/. KPCC. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  2. Gordon, Larry and, Brown, Erin (May 10, 2013). "USC steals 2 star brain researchers from UCLA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 October 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "LONI People". loni.usc.edu. Laboratory of Neuroimaging.
  4. "Paul Thompson/Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Google Scholar. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  5. Pappas, Stephanie (April 16, 2012). "Genes Tied To IQ, Brain Size In UCLA ENIGMA Study". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  6. Thompson, Paul M.; Neale, Benjamin M.; Jahanshad, Neda; Medland, Sarah E. (June 2014). "Imaging Consortia". Nature Neuroscience. 17 (6): 791–800. doi:10.1038/nn.3718. PMC   4300949 . PMID   24866045.
  7. "The world's largest set of brain scans are helping reveal the workings of the mind and how diseases ravage the brain". Science | AAAS. 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  8. "Nimhans ties up with US varsity for brain-ageing project, Deccan Herald, February 20, 2023".
  9. "Delving into the Mysteries of the Brain, Bangalore Mirror, February 25, 2023".
  10. "Renowned scientists lead cluster hire of new Trojans - USC News". news.usc.edu. 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  11. "$50 million gift names the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute - USC News". news.usc.edu. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  12. "Leading Brain Mapping Scientists, Senator Chris Murphy, Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, and Doctors from Ukraine amongst award recipients of the 20th Annual Gathering for Cure (GFC) Gala of the World Brain Mapping Foundation".
  13. "Highly Cited Researchers (H>100) according to their Google Scholar Citations public profiles | Ranking Web of Universities: More than 28000 institutions ranked".