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Speakers
Binu Thomas, PhD – Assistant Professor at the Advanced Imaging Research Center, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and Dept. of Radiology, UT Southwestern
The Metabolic Brain: How Obesity and Diabetes Alter Blood Flow, Oxygen Metabolism and the Blood-Brain Barrier
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are increasingly recognized as important risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia, but how metabolic dysfunction affects the brain remains incompletely understood. This talk explores how obesity and diabetes alter key aspects of brain physiology, including cerebral blood flow, oxygen extraction, and blood-brain barrier function.
Frontiers of BrainHealth is a hybrid speaker series. Register for the season, and you will get a link to the virtual talks as well as available recordings. If you are interested in attending any of the talks in person, please note that you can confirm attendance when we send you a reminder email a few days prior to each talk.
For more information, visit our FAQs or email brainhealthevents@utdallas.edu.
Using advanced, noninvasive MRI methods, Dr. Thomas' studies reveal that brain function in older adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity are associated with glycemic control and cognitive function. He also presents preliminary findings that examine whether weight loss and improvement in diabetes may reverse or normalize some of these brain changes. Together, this work highlights the cerebrovascular system as an important link between metabolic health and brain health and raises the possibility that some diabetes- and obesity-related brain abnormalities may be modifiable.
Binu Thomas, PhD, is assistant professor in the Advanced Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, and Biomedical Engineering at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where he directs the Brain Function Imaging Laboratory. His research focuses on developing and applying advanced, noninvasive MRI methods to understand cerebral blood flow, oxygen metabolism, cerebrovascular reactivity, and blood-brain barrier function in aging and conditions that increase risk for cognitive decline and dementia.
His work has examined the effects of mild cognitive impairment, exercise, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and weight loss on cerebrovascular and cognitive health. Dr. Thomas has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. He serves in editorial leadership roles in the fields of Alzheimer’s disease and medical imaging. He has adjunct academic appointments at UT Dallas and UT Arlington. His current research seeks to identify sensitive physiological imaging biomarkers that can detect early brain vascular dysfunction and determine whether metabolic and lifestyle interventions can preserve brain health and reduce risk for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Watch select recordings below.
We are located at 2200 West Mockingbird Lane Dallas, TX 75235
The entrance to the surface parking lot is on Forest Park Road. The talks will be held in the Brain Performance Institute building, the second building when you enter through the gate.