Join us on October 13, 2023 at noon when the Department of Psychiatry welcomes John Kornak, PhD as our Special Guest Lecturer.
Dr. Kornak received his PhD in Statistics from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California at San Francisco (USCF) and The Ohio State University before joining the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging in 2003. He transferred to Epidemiology and Biostatistics in July 2010 and is currently the Head of the Data Science Program and the Director of the CTSI Biostatistical Consulting Unit. Dr. Kornak's research interests focus on Bayesian methods for analyzing fronto-temporal dementia outcomes, Bayesian reconstruction of magnetic resonance imaging, and statistical image analysis.
In his talk, Dr. Kornak will discuss the hypothetical 2010 ‘Jack’ model, which attempts to describe the timeline for which different biomarkers change in Alzheimer’s Disease and has sparked much discussion and subsequent research into disease trajectory modeling. Understanding this temporal ordering of effects in dementia and other neurological diseases/illnesses would have major benefits for both individual level prediction and clinical trial design. I will present some nonlinear mixed effects methods aimed at estimating normalized cognitive test scores for individuals that appropriately account for demographic and other factors. These normalized scores are subsequently used in an application that models the temporal path of brain biomarker changes (cognition, imaging and otherwise) in frontotemporal dementia; the goal being to determine potential differences in disease progression trajectories across genetic subtypes. This is collaborative work with the UCSF Memory and Aging Center along with the Berry Consultants group.
This lecture will be offered as a hybrid event. Join us in-person in the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital Auditorium or attend remotely using the following Zoom information:
Link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/96534398090
Passcode: 285703
For More Information. Please contact Shardai Key Ward at keysj4@upmc.edu.
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS. The entirety of this program will be a lecture by the speaker(s). All individuals able to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any proprietary entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients. Registration is not required for this event. This event is free and there will be no refunds. The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other health care professionals are awarded .15 continuing education units (CEUs), which are equal to 1.5 contact hours. In accordance with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials which will be distributed at the time of the conference. WPH is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. WPH maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. This program is being offered for 1.5 continuing education credits. The indicated number of clock hours of continuing education is provided through UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital’s Office of Educational Resources and Planning, a PA-approved provider of social work continuing education in accordance with all the applicable educational and professional standards of the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapist. These clock hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT renewal. For more information, call (412) 204-9085.
