Jann lab focuses on functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The overarching research goal is on improving and developing novel analysis approaches to delineate and understand the brain’s functional organization and underlying physiological mechanisms in health and disease. Therefore, we develop novel analytical tools and imaging markers for basic and clinical neuroscience applications. We also work on improving data quality through advanced post processing and noise correction of fMRI data. We spearheaded functional connectivity analysis based on Arterial Spin labeling data and most recently, complexity analysis of fMRI. The complexity analysis of fMRI provides a novel imaging metric that we currently evaluate in association with tau-pathology and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s Disease.

PI: Kay Jann, PhD

Email: kay.jann@ini.usc.edu
Dr Jann is Assistant Professor of Research at the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine USC. Dr. Jann received his PhD from the University Hospital of Psychiatry, Dept. of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University of Bern, Switzerland and PostDoc training at University of Bern, Switzerland and at the Brain Mapping Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA. His PostDoc was awarded by an Advanced PostDoc fellowship of the Swiss National Science Foundation and SSMBS (Schweizer Stiftung für Medizinisch-Biologische Stipendien).
Dr Jann has a strong background in multimodal imaging, combining electrophysiological, functional and structural MRI methods. His research focus is on developing novel analytical approaches to characterize the brain’s functional organization in health and disease. He developed preprocessing and analysis techniques to identify epileptiform activity in patients with epilepsy from simultaneous EEG/fMRI recordings. He also spearheaded and validated functional connectivity computations based on Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI and applied this technique in patients to show the associations in pathophysiological changes in functional connectivity strength and metabolic demand. He further is a core developer of the algorithms for complexity analysis of resting state fMRI data and its application to basic and clinical neuroscience.
Dr Jann actively collaborates with and advises national and international groups on ASL perfusion MR, functional connectivity as well as complexity analyses.

Project Specialist: Ru Zhang
PostDocs: Dilmini Wijesinghe
Data Management Coordinator: Duyen Nguyen
Students: Srinivasan Kezhanatham Seshadri, Byung-Soo Choi

Alumni:
Postdocs: Shekhar Adhikari
Students: Adityan Jothi, Niyati Sharma

Funding:

1R01AG066711
Jann/Wang (MPIs), Role: Main Applicant (PI)
04/01/2020-03/31/2025
Complexity of FMRI in Alzheimer's Disease
This project aims to develop and evaluate a noninvasive, quantitative and economical imaging marker of AD based on the complexity or regularity of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

R41AG073024
Name of PD/PI: Jann
Title: Development of perivascular space mapping toolset as a diagnostic aid for Alzheimer’s disease
Major Goals: The aim of this proposal is to develop and optimize our existing code into a commercially and clinically deployable software. We aim to develop a deployable backend software for PVS quantification and test it through our collaboration with USC Keck school of medicine.