Dr Martina Bocchetta

About

Martina Bocchetta completed her BSc in Cognitive Psychology and Psychobiology in 2008, and MSc in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in 2010, both at the University of Padua (Italy). Between 2009 and 2015 she worked as a research assistant with the IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli (Brescia, Italy), under the supervision of Prof. Giovanni B. Frisoni. Her PhD in Neuroscience (awarded in 2016 at the University of Brescia, Italy) was focused on the importance of the standardization of imaging biomarkers for their use in clinical settings and trials.

Since 2015 she has been working at the Dementia Research Centre in multiple studies in sporadic and genetic frontotemporal dementia within Prof. Jonathan Rohrer’s team. She is now a Lecturer in Neuroscience at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in UK, and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience at Brunel University London.

Her research mainly focuses on analysing subcortical structures on MR imaging, and their functional and structural connections with the cortex in the different forms of FTD. She is particularly interested in identifying novel imaging biomarkers to be used as personalised measures to help to disentangle the heterogeneity seen across the FTD spectrum.

When not looking at brain scans or teaching, you will find her cooking, reading, or experimenting new ways not to kill her plants.

 

What is your area of research as it relates to FTD?

I am a neuroscientist interested in investigating brain measures on MRI and particularly how subcortical structures are structurally and functionally connected in the different forms of FTD. My final goal is to improve our understanding of this heterogenous disease, by measuring when FTD starts in the brain and how it progresses over time. This will be crucial to help in the quest for a cure, by measuring whether new drugs are effective in slowing down the progression of FTD.

What inspired you to do FTD research?

I was first exposed to the dementia field during an internship as an undergraduate student. This experience in a neuroimaging research laboratory in Italy, working closely with a memory clinic, was truly inspiring for me, as I witnessed the impact of this terrible disease on patients and their families. During my PhD and thanks to my involvement in the GENetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative (GENFI, www.genfi.org), I realised how much heterogeneity exists across FTD forms, and how little we knew about this complex disease, compared to other more common forms of dementia. As a community, we are working hard and making progress in better understanding FTD, and research has the potential to improve the lives of so many people affected by FTD. I want to play my part, by working in identifying neuroimaging biomarkers for prognosis, outcome measures or stratification in clinical trials.

What challenges have you faced in FTD research?

The high heterogeneity of onset, progression and symptoms across individuals, even when they have received the same diagnosis. This makes accurate prognosis and design of clinical trials extremely challenging. Moreover, FTD is relatively less common in the general population and less talked about than other forms of dementia, impacting the resources and availability of funding to conduct research.

What hopes do you have for FTD research?

The recent advances in imaging, cognitive, pathological and blood-based biomarkers have helped us to better understand FTD in a very short time compared to other diseases. This was possible thanks to international consortia and collaborations, which really are vital for a small community such as ours. Promising clinical trials are underway targeting different genes and pathways, and my hope for the future of FTD research is that we will be able to characterise and understand the heterogeneity across its forms, improve the accuracy of prognosis, and to ultimately develop effective rehabilitation plans and personalised treatments for those living with FTD.