Malu Mandelli, PhD
Associate Professor
Neurology
School of Medicine

marialuisa.mandelli@ucsf.edu 415-476-3861

My research program aims to understand the neural basis of language and cognitive functions by applying novel and multimodal brain MRI techniques to a wide range of neurological diseases and conditions. These include neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontotemporal dementia, prion disease, Alzheimer's disease, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

In the past years at UCSF, I have developed state-of-the-art diffusion imaging and functional MRI protocols to pursue our strategic research priorities. I guide the development and testing of various automated algorithms for structural and functional images for diffusion data and white matter tractography. These advanced methodologies offer a more comprehensive approach to clinical research, leading to clinically relevant discoveries and influential publications in areas highly relevant to our patient populations. I also collaborated across multiple sites for the HCP study in frontotemporal dementia. This project represented the first large-scale attempt to collect and share high-resolution multimodal brain MRI data with the overarching goal of gaining a more fine-grained understanding of human connectional anatomy and addressing fundamental questions with regard to its variation in familial and genetic FTD.

Since 2023, I have been on the scientific advisory board of AWEAR, an early-stage startup developing wearable EEG technology {https://www.awear.us}

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Publications (87)

Top publication keywords:
SpeechWhite MatterFrontotemporal DementiaNerve NetTemporal LobeDiffusion Magnetic Resonance ImagingBrainDyslexiaPrimary Progressive Nonfluent AphasiaLanguageAphasia, Primary ProgressiveAtrophyApraxiasFrontotemporal Lobar DegenerationSemantics