Dr Kerstin Pannek: Brain diffusion MRI of the very preterm infant

Abstract

Infants born preterm are at an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, including cerebral palsy, autism, and ADHD. The first two years of a child’s life are a period of maximum neuroplasticity, when interventions have the best chance of improving outcomes. A key requirement for successful early intervention is early prediction of outcomes. Brain MRI offers unique insights into the neural underpinnings of normal and abnormal brain development. In this seminar, Kerstin will present findings from the UQ-led PPREMO and PREBO longitudinal observational cohort studies investigating brain development in very preterm infants. Using advanced diffusion MRI techniques, her work revealed alterations in white matter microstructure across early development, and how these changes relate to later neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Bio

Kerstin Pannek has a background in Physics, with an MSc from the University of Würzburg in Germany in 2005 before moving into neuroimaging research. In 2007, she joined The University of Queensland as a research assistant, working on diffusion MRI projects involving stroke, traumatic brain injury, and cerebral palsy. From 2011 to 2014, she completed her PhD at UQ in neonatal neuroimaging in collaboration with CSIRO and then joined Imperial College London to contribute to the Developing Human Connectome Project. In 2016, she returned to Australia to continue her work on neuroimaging of human brain development with CSIRO. In 2023, Kerstin joined UQ part time as a HERA Fellow while continuing her research at CSIRO. She leads the Neurodevelopment and Plasticity Team at CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre, focusing on advanced imaging techniques to understand early brain development and neuroplasticity.