The BHF-UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research is delighted to welcome Dr Mohamad El Amki (University of Zurich) for the first seminar in our vascular dementia series.
In this talk, "Brain vascular function and dysfunction: from the pial vasculature to the delicate capillaries”, Dr El Amki will explore how brain vascular function contributes to health and disease, with an emphasis on understanding the roles of pial collaterals and of neutrophil plugging of capillaries after stroke.
The seminar will take place at 1:00 pm on Wednesday 21 January 2026, hosted in person at the JZ Young Theatre, UCL, and online via Zoom. We warmly invite researchers, clinicians, and students with an interest in vascular dementia to join us for this insightful session.
Abstract: The pial vasculature is the sole source of blood supply to the neocortex. Recently, my group developed Pia-FLOW; a large-scale transcranial fluorescence localization microscopy technique enabling hemodynamic mapping of the entire murine pial and calvarial vasculature at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. This approach provides quantitative maps of flow velocity, directionality, and vessel diameters, offering robust ground-truth datasets for cerebrovascular modeling and fluid dynamics research.
Beyond anatomy and flow, we focus on the regulation of brain fluid dynamics with a special emphasis on blood flow recovery after ischemic stroke. My group has also shown that pial collaterals are key components regulating neurovascular coupling and reperfusion after stroke. Moreover, we uncovered that microvascular failure after stroke is due to capillary stalls by neutrophil plugging. We strive to find novel approaches to improve macro and microvascular function in order to keep the brain’s circulatory system functional.
Date and time
Location
In person at the JZ Young Theatre, UCL, and online via Zoom.