12/23/2021
By Sokny Long

The Francis College of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, invites you to attend a doctoral proposal defense by Fan Yang on “Image processing and graph theoretic models in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and prognosis.”

Doctoral Candidate: Fan Yang
Defense Date: Thursday, Jan 6, 2022
Time: 10 to 11 a.m.
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should contact Ph.D. advisor, joyita_dutta@uml.edu, at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.

Committee Chair (Advisor): Joyita Dutta, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Committee Members:

  • Hengyong Yu, Ph.D., Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Rachel Melamed, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Center of Biomedical and Health Research in Data Sciences (CHORDS), University of Massachusetts Lowell

Brief Abstract:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is the most prevalent form of dementia among older adults. It is a looming public health challenge that deaths from AD have increased 145% between 2000 and 2019. My research focus is to develop novel image processing and graph theoretic tools for medical images to accurate diagnosis of preclinical AD, and for the identification of the correct cohorts for a clinical trial for the therapeutics. My research contributions include 1) developing mathematical models for tau aggregation based on longitudinal tau measures from positron emission tomography (PET) and structural connectivity graphs from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), 2) identifying mechanisms for tau buildup in the aging brain and offers a macroscopic perspective on tau spread, 3) predicting with reasonably high accuracy the tau buildup at a future time-point.


All interested students and faculty members are invited to attend the defense.