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Cambridge Centre for Frontotemporal Dementia and Related Disorders

Department of Clinical Neurosciences
 

Biography

My first class training in Medical Sciences and Experimental Psychology (1st class hons.) began at Downing College at the University of Cambridge (1988-1991), followed by studies at Magdalen College at the University of Oxford (1991-1994) and continued through my PhD at the Functional Imaging Laboratory of the Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology (1998-2001), supervised by Richard Frackowiak, Professor of Cognitive Neurology in London, and Richard E. Passingham, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in Oxford.

My PhD focused on the neural mechanisms of response selection and attention to action, in health and Parkinson’s disease. For this I acquired an in-depth knowledge of cognitive neurosciences and human neuroimaging techniques, including positron emission tomography, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

After completing my PhD I undertook full time clinical specialist training in neurology, for four years. During my clinical training I continued research, including UK and international collaborations with an emphasis on the analysis of interactions within cortical and subcortical neural networks. My Wellcome Trust Intermediate Research Fellowship (2005-2009) enabled me to develop further research methodologies (including magnetoencephalography), clinical experience with Pick’s Disease Complex (PDC), and the theoretical frameworks of my research programmes.

Since 2009, I am a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science and since 2015, I am Professor of Cognitive Neurology at the Cambridge University and an affiliated Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen.  

My scientific work has been published in >160 high-ranking peer-reviewed articles including Science, Brain, Nature Communications, and Neurology.

I am an active consultant neurologist, leading regional specialist clinics for patients with early dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, and other ‘tauopathies’, and I am a member of the Cambridge Memory Clinic.

Research

  • Dementia
  • Frontotemporal dementia
  • Action control and decision making
  • Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)
  • Corticobasal degeneration (CBD)
  • Successful cognitive ageing
  • Parkinson's disease (PD)
  • Alzheimer's disease (AD)
  • Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)

Publications

Key publications: 

For publications please check here or visit my Google Scholar profile page.

Director
Principal Investigator
E-mail: james.rowe[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Professor James B. Rowe
Not available for consultancy

A new short film by Professor Rowe about his journey as a clinician and researcher. Sponsored by AlzheimersResearchUK.

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