Washington University in St Louis · Biomedical EngineeringVlassenko Lab
Andrei G. Vlassenko · Saint Louis, Missouri
Research Focus
Dr. Andrei G. Vlassenko's research focuses on understanding brain metabolism, especially as it relates to aging and Alzheimer's disease. His lab uses advanced imaging techniques, like PET and MRI, to explore how the brain uses oxygen and glucose during mental tasks, and how this might change in older adults and those with cognitive impairments. The goal is to uncover the metabolic processes involved in brain health and disease, which could lead to new insights on preventing cognitive decline.
Alzheimer's Diseasebrain metabolismagingPET imagingwhite matter hyperintensitiesneuroimagingcognitive declinemetabolic rateaerobic glycolysis
Research Aims
4AIM 01Measure how glucose is used in the brain during mental tasks to understand brain activity
AIM 02Investigate how brain metabolism changes with aging and Alzheimer's disease
AIM 03Explore the relationship between white matter metabolism and hyperintensities
AIM 04Determine if metabolic measurements can predict cognitive decline over time
Skills the Lab Values
PET imagingMRI analysisglucose metabolism measurementcerebral blood flow assessmentdata collection from human subjectsstatistical analysis of imaging datalongitudinal data analysistask performance design
Output against the department
Publications127bottom 26% of dept.441st of 595
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations5.7kbottom 44% of dept.335th of 595
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.