Background

Introduction

My main scientific interests are in the area of network analysis both of cortical as well as neuronal networks and the interplay between network structure and function. Current projects investigate the role of structural brain connectivity on neural activity patterns. I also work on the development and plasticity after lesions of neural networks.

Qualifications

M.Sc. (Biology) Ruhr-University-Bochum, 2002
Ph.D. (Neuroscience) Jacobs University,  2005

Memberships

Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) since 2016
UK Computing Research Council (UKCRC)
British Neuroscience Association (BNA)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Senior Member
International Society of Magnetic Resonance (ISMAR)
International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM),  British Chapter
MRC NMHB Funding panel
EPSRC College 

Area of expertise: Computational Neuroscience, Network Analysis, Connectome, Connectomics, Neuroinformatics, Brain Development

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Research

Research Interests

Network analysis
Connectomics
Computational Neuroanatomy
Neuromodulation

Research Roles

- Chair of Neuroinformatics UK
- Group leader in Neuroinformatics (see Neuroinformatics@Newcastle)
- Visiting Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Riu Jin Hospital, China

Postgraduate Supervision

- Chris Papasavvas (PhD student; 2013-present)
- Chris Thornton (PhD student; 2014-present)
- Michael Mackay (PhD student; 2015-present)
- Dr Roman Bauer (PDRA; 2013-present)
- Dr Yujiang Wang (PDRA; 2013-present)
- Dr Luis Peraza (PDRA; 2013-present)

Esteem Indicators

Member of the Editorial Board of Network Neuroscience (MIT Press), PLOS Computational Biology, Royal Society Open Science, Applied Network Science (Springer), Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, PLOS ONE, and ACM Computing Reviews.

Selected invited talks:

- Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, 3/2016
- Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 8/2014
- Cambridge, UK, 4/2014
- King's College London, UK, 6/2013
- CERN, Switzerland, 4/2013
- KAIST, South Korea, 5/2010
- RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan, 5/2010
- Seoul National University, South Korea, 5/2009
- Imperial College London, 11/2008
- Oxford, UK, 12/2007
- Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany, 3/2007
- Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, USA, 1/2007
- European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), Cambridge, UK, 6/2006
- Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, USA, 10/2004

Funding

MRC grant (PI), 2019
EPSRC Programme grant (Co-I), 2016
Alzheimer Research UK grant (Co-I), 2016
Wellcome Trust/EPSRC CANDO project (Co-I), 2014
EPSRC Research Grant (PI), 2013
NIHR - PostDoc Fellowship (Co-I), 2013
BBSRC - PhD studentship (PI), 2013
Amazon Research Grant (PI), 2011
EPSRC Impact Award (PI), 2011
Santander Visiting Fellowship (PI), 2010
EPSRC - First Grant (PI), 2009
BBSRC - PhD studentship (PI), 2009
Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD programme (Co-PI), 2007
Royal Society - Research Grant (PI), 2007
EPSRC - CARMEN Neuroinformatics project (Co-I), 2006
EPSRC – CASE for New Academics Award (PI), 2006

Teaching

Postgraduate Teaching

CSC8314 MRes Computational Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics (module leader)
MMB8019 MRes Sensory Systems

Publications

• Jiang S, Li H, Guo J, Zhong M, Yang S, Kaiser M, Krasnogor N. AREA: An adaptive reference-set based evolutionary algorithm for multiobjective optimisation. Information Sciences 2020, 515, 365-387.
• Giannakakis E, Hutchings F, Papasavvas CA, Han CE, Weber B, Zhang C, Kaiser M. Computational modelling of the long-term effects of brain stimulation on the local and global structural connectivity of epileptic patients. PLoS ONE 2020, 15(2), e0221380.
• Jiang S, Kaiser M, Yang S, Kollias S, Krasnogor N. A Scalable Test Suite for Continuous Dynamic Multiobjective Optimization. IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics 2020, 50(6), 2814-2826.
• Kaiser M. Computational models and fundamental constraints can inform the design of synthetic connectomes: Comment on “What would a synthetic connectome look like?” by Ithai Rabinowitch. Physics of Life Reviews 2020, 33, 16-18.
• Sinha N, Wang Y, Dauwels J, Kaiser M, Thesene T, Forsyth R, Taylor PN. Computer modelling of connectivity change suggests epileptogenesis mechanisms in idiopathic generalised epilepsy. NeuroImage: Clinical 2019, 21, 101655.
• Schumacher J, Peraza LR, Firbank M, Thomas AJ, Kaiser M, Gallagher P, O'Brien JT, Blamire AM, Taylor J-P. Dynamic functional connectivity changes in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease. NeuroImage: Clinical 2019, 22, 101812.
• Schumacher J, Peraza LR, Firbank M, Thomas AJ, Kaiser M, Gallagher P, OBrien JT, Blamire AM, Taylor JP. Dysfunctional brain dynamics and their origin in Lewy body dementia. Brain 2019, 142(6), 1767-1782.
• Peraza LR, Diaz-Parra A, Kennion O, Moratal D, Taylor JP, Kaiser M, Bauer R. Structural connectivity centrality changes mark the path toward Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring 2019, 11, 98-107.
• Schumacher J, Cromarty R, Gallagher P, Firbank MJ, Thomas AJ, Kaiser M, Blamire AM, O'Brien JT, Peraza LR, Taylor JP. Structural correlates of attention dysfunction in Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease: an ex-Gaussian analysis. Journal of Neurology 2019, 266(7), 1716–1726.
• Thornton C, Hutchings F, Kaiser M. The virtual electrode recording tool for extracellular potentials (VERTEX) Version 2.0: Modelling in vitro electrical stimulation of brain tissue [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]. Wellcome Open Research 2019, 4(20), 1-24.
• Mehraram R, Kaiser M, Cromarty R, Graziadio S, O'Brien JT, Killen A, Taylor J-P, Peraza LR. Weighted network measures reveal differences between dementia types: An EEG study. Human Brain Mapping 2019, 41(6), 1573-1590.
• Jiang S, Kaiser M, Wan S, Guo J, Yang S, Krasnogor N. An Empirical Study of Dynamic Triobjective Optimisation Problems. In: 2018 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, CEC 2018 - Proceedings. 2018, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: IEEE.
• Gonzalez-de-Aledo P, Vladimirov A, Manca M, Baugh J, Asai R, Kaiser M, Bauer R. An optimization approach for agent-based computational models of biological development. Advances in Engineering Software 2018, 121, 262-275.
• Schumacher J, Peraza LR, Firbank MJ, Thomas AJ, Kaiser M, Gallagher P, O'Brien JT, Blamire AM, Taylor J-T. Functional connectivity in dementia with Lewy bodies: A within- and between-network analysis. Human Brain Mapping 2018, 39(3), 1118-1129.
• Jiang S, Kaiser M, Guo J, Yang S, Krasnogor N. Less detectable environmental changes in dynamic multiobjective optimisation. In: GECCO 2018 - Proceedings of the 2018 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference. 2018, Kyoto, Japan: Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.
• Torres M, Jiang S, Pelta D, Kaiser M, Krasnogor N. Strain design as multiobjective network interdiction problem: A preliminary approach. In: 18th Conference of the Spanish Association for Artificial Intelligence. 2018, Granada, Spain: Springer Verlag.
• Cromarty RA, Schumacher J, Graziadio S, Gallagher P, Killen A, Firbank MJ, Blamire A, Kaiser M, Thomas AJ, O'Brien JT, Peraza LR, Taylor J-P. Structural Brain Correlates of Attention Dysfunction in Lewy Body Dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2018, 10, 347.
• Kaiser M. Mechanisms of Connectome Development. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2017, 21(9), 703-717.
• Wang Y, Trevelyan AJ, Valentin A, Alarcon G, Taylor PN, Kaiser M. Mechanisms underlying different onset patterns of focal seizures. PLoS Computational Biology 2017, 13(5), e1005475.
• Lim S, Hutchings F, Kaiser M. Modeling the impact of lesions in the brain. In: The Rewiring Brain: A Computational Approach to Structural Plasticity in the Adult Brain. Academic Press, 2017, pp.465-484.
• Bauer R, Kaiser M. Nonlinear growth: An origin of hub organization in complex networks. Royal Society Open Science 2017.
• Bauer R, Kaiser M. Organisational Principles of Connectomes: Changes during Evolution and Development. In: Shuichi S; Yasunori M; Tadashi N, ed. Brain Evolution by Design: From Neural Origin to Cognitive Architecture. Tokyo, Japan: Springer Japan, 2017, pp.387-401.
• Sinha N, Dauwels J, Kaiser M, Cash SS, Westover MB, Wang Y, Taylor PN. Predicting neurosurgical outcomes in focal epilepsy patients using computational modelling. Brain 2017, 140(2), 319-332.
• Sinha N, Dauwels J, Kaiser M, Cash SS, Westover BM, Wang Y, Taylor PN. Reply: Computer models to inform epilepsy surgery strategies: Prediction of postoperative outcome. Brain 2017, 140(5), e31.
• Bauer R, Breitwieser L, DiMeglio A, Johard L, Kaiser M, Manca M, Rademakers F, Talanov M, Tchitchigin A. The BioDynaMo Project: Experience Report. In: Jordi Vallverdú (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain), Manuel Mazzara (Innopolis University, Russia), Max Talanov (Kazan Federal University, Russia), Salvatore Distefano (University of Messina, Italy & Kazan Federal University, Russia) and Robert Lowe (University of Gothenburg, Sweden & University of Skövde, Sweden), ed. Advanced Research on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures. IGI Global, 2017, pp.117-125.
• Taylor PN, Wang Y, Kaiser M. Within brain area tractography suggests local modularity using high resolution connectomics. Scientific Reports 2017, 7, 39859.
• Thanarajah SE, Han CE, Rotarska-Jagiela A, Singer W, Deichmann R, Maurer K, Kaiser M, Uhlhaas PJ. Abnormal connectional fingerprint in schizophrenia: A novel network analysis of diffusion tensor imaging data. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2016, 7, 114.
• Ainsworth M, Lee S, Kaiser M, Simonotto J, Kopell NJ, Whittington MA. GABA_B receptor-mediated, layer-specific synaptic plasticity reorganizes gamma-frequency neocortical response to stimulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 2016, 113(19), E2721-E2729.
• Peraza LR, Colloby SJ, Deboys L, O'Brien JT, Kaiser M, Taylor JP. Regional functional synchronizations in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease. International Psychogeriatrics 2016, 28(7), 1143-1151.
• Breitwieser L, Bauer R, Di Meglio A, Johard L, Kaiser M, Manca M, Mazzara M, Rademakers F, Talanov M. The BioDynaMo project: Creating a platform for large-scale reproducible biological simulations. In: CEUR Workshop Proceedings. 2016, Manchester, UK: CEUR-WS.
• Breitwieser L, Bauer R, DiMeglio A, Johard L, Kaiser M, Manca M, Mazzara M, Rademakers F, Talanov M. The BioDynaMo Project: creating a platform for large-scale reproducible biological simulations. In: 4th Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences. 2016, Manchester, UK: CEUR Workshop Proceedings.
• Wang Y, Necus J, Kaiser M, Mota B. Universality in human cortical folding in health and disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 2016, 113(45), 12820-12825.
• Lo Y-P, O'Dea R, Crofts JJ, Han CE, Kaiser M. A geometric network model of intrinsic grey-matter connectivity of the human brain. Scientific Reports 2015, 5, 15397.
• Yoo SW, Han CE, Shin JS, Seo SW, Na DL, Kaiser M, Jeong Y, Seong JK. A Network Flow-based Analysis of Cognitive Reserve in Normal Ageing and Alzheimer's Disease. Scientific Reports 2015, 5, 10057.
• Wang YJ, Hutchings F, Kaiser M. Computational modeling of neurostimulation in brain diseases. Progress in Brain Research 2015, 222, 191-228.
• Lim S, Kaiser M. Developmental time windows for axon growth influence neuronal network topology. Biological Cybernetics 2015, 109(2), 275-286.
• Peraza LR, Taylor J-P, Kaiser M. Divergent brain functional network alterations in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiology of Aging 2015, 36(9), 2458-2467.
• Papasavvas CA, Wang Y, Trevelyan AJ, Kaiser M. Gain control through divisive inhibition prevents abrupt transition to chaos in a neural mass model. Physical Review E 2015, 92(3), 032723.
• Kjedsen HD, Kaiser M, Whittington MA. Near-field electromagnetic holography for high-resolution analysis of network interactions in neuronal tissue. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2015, 253, 1-9.
• Kaiser M. Neuroanatomy: Connectome Connects Fly and Mammalian Brain Networks. Current Biology 2015, 25(10), R416-R418.
• Taylor PN, Thomas J, Sinha N, Dauwels J, Kaiser M, Thesen T, Ruths J. Optimal control based seizure abatement using patient derived connectivity. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2015, 9, 202.
• Hutchings F, Han CE, Keller SS, Weber B, Taylor PN, Kaiser M. Predicting Surgery Targets in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy through Structural Connectome Based Simulations. PLoS Computational Biology 2015, 11(12), e1004642.
• Lim S, Han CE, Uhlhaas PJ, Kaiser M. Preferential Detachment During Human Brain Development: Age- and Sex-Specific Structural Connectivity in Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Data. Cerebral Cortex 2015, 25(6), 1477-1489.
• Peraza LR, Colloby SJ, Firbank MJ, Greasy SG, McKeith IG, Kaiser M, O'Brien J, Taylor JP. Resting state in Parkinson’s disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies: Commonalities and differences. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2015, 30(11), 1135-1146.
• Taylor PN, Han CE, Schoene-Bake J-C, Weber B, Kaiser M. Structural connectivity changes in temporal lobe epilepsy: Spatial features contribute more than topological measures. NeuroImage: Clinical 2015, 8, 322-328.
• Birmingham PE, Taylor PN, Kaiser M. The Structural Connectivity of Generalised Epilepsy Using Network Analyses. In: UCD School of Medicine, Summer Student Research Awards, 2015. 2015, Dublin, Ireland: Spinger London.
• Tomsett RJ, Ainsworth M, Thiele A, Sanayei M, Chen X, Gieselmann MA, Whittington MA, Cunningham MO, Kaiser M. Virtual Electrode Recording Tool for EXtracellular potentials (VERTEX): comparing multi-electrode recordings from simulated and biological mammalian cortical tissue. Brain Structure and Function 2015, 220(4), 2333-2353.
• Bauer R, Kaiser M, Stoll E. A computational model incorporating neural stem cell dynamics reproduces glioma incidence across the lifespan in the human population. PLoS ONE 2014, 9(11), e111219.
• Klein D, Rotarska-Jagiela A, Genc E, Sritharan S, Mohr H, Roux F, Han CE, Kaiser M, Singer W, Uhlhaas PJ. Adolescent Brain Maturation and Cortical Folding: Evidence for Reductions in Gyrification. PLoS One 2014, 9(1), e84914.
• Peraza LR, Kaiser M, Firbank M, Graziadio S, Bonanni L, Onofrj M, Colloby SJ, Blamire A, O'Brien J, Taylor J-P. fMRI resting state networks and their association with cognitive fluctuations in dementia with Lewy bodies. Neuroimage: Clinical 2014, 4, 558-565.
• Kim JS, Kaiser M. From Caenorhabditis elegans to the human connectome: a specific modular organization increases metabolic, functional and developmental efficiency. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 2014, 369(1653), 20130529.
• Peraza LR, Kaiser M, Taylor J-P. Functional connectivity in dementia with Lewy bodies compared to Alzheimer's disease: a network perspective. In: Parkinson's UK Research Conference. 2014, York: Parkinson's UK.
• Hutt MT, Kaiser M, Hilgetag CC. Perspective: network-guided pattern formation of neural dynamics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Biological Sciences 2014, 369(1653).
• Han CE, Peraza LR, Taylor J-P, Kaiser M. Predicting age across human lifespan based on structural connectivity from diffusion tensor imaging. In: 2014 IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference (BioCAS). 2014, Lausanne, Switzerland: IEEE.
• Taylor PN, Kaiser M, Dauwels J. Structural connectivity based whole brain modelling in epilepsy. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2014, 236, 51-57.
• O'Dea R, Crofts JJ, Kaiser M. Spreading dynamics on spatially constrained complex brain networks. Journal of the Royal Society Interface 2013, 10(81), 20130016.
• Kaiser M. The potential of the human connectome as a biomarker of brain disease. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013, 7, 484.
• Zawadzki K, Feenders C, Viana MP, Kaiser M, Costa LD. Morphological Homogeneity of Neurons: Searching for Outlier Neuronal Cells. Neuroinformatics 2012, 10(4), 379-389.
• Comin CH, Batista JLB, Viana MP, Costa LD, Travencolo BAN, Kaiser M. Structure and dynamics: The transition from nonequilibrium in integrate-and-fire dynamics. International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos 2012, 22(7), 1250174.
• Kaiser M. A tutorial in connectome analysis: Topological and spatial features of brain networks. NeuroImage 2011, 57(3), 892-907.
• Echtermeyer C, Costa LD, Rodrigues FA, Kaiser M. Automatic Network Fingerprinting through Single-Node Motifs. PLoS ONE 2011, 6(1), e15765.
• Varier S, Kaiser M, Forsyth R. Establishing, versus Maintaining, Brain Function: A Neuro-computational Model of Cortical Reorganization after Injury to the Immature Brain. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2011, 17(6), 1030-1038.
• Kaiser M, Varier S. Evolution and development of Brain Networks: From Caenorhabditis elegans to Homo sapiens. Network : computation in neural systems 2011, 22(1-4), 143-147.
• Varier S, Kaiser M. Neural Development Features: Spatio-Temporal Development of the Caenorhabditis elegans Neuronal Network. PLoS Computational Biology 2011, 7(1), e1001044.
• Roopun AK, Simonotto JD, Pierce ML, Jenkins A, Nicholson C, Schofield IS, Whittaker RG, Kaiser M, Whittington MA, Traub RD, Cunningham MO. A nonsynaptic mechanism underlying interictal discharges in human epileptic neocortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2010, 107(1), 338-343.
• Kaiser M, Hilgetag C. Optimal hierarchical modular topologies for producing limited sustained activation of neural networks. Frontiers in Neuroinformatics 2010, 4, 8.
• Kaiser M, Hilgetag C, van Ooyen A. A simple rule for axon outgrowth and synaptic competition generates realistic connection lengths and filling fractions. Cerebral Cortex 2009, 19(12), 3001-3010.
• Costa LD, Rodrigues FA, Hilgetag CC, Kaiser M. Beyond the average: Detecting global singular nodes from local features in complex networks. Europhysics Letters 2009, 87(1), -.
• Ribeiro P, Simonotto J, Kaiser M, Silva F. Parallel calculation of multi-electrode array correlation networks. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2009, 184(2), 357-364.
• Ribeiro P, Silva F, Kaiser M. Strategies for network motifs discovery. In: 5th IEEE International Conference on e-Science. 2009, Oxford, UK: IEEE.
• Kaiser M. Mean clustering coefficients: The role of isolated nodes and leafs on clustering measures for small-world networks. New Journal of Physics 2008, 10.
• Kaiser M. Multiple-scale hierarchical connectivity of cortical networks limits the spread of activity. In: Soltesz, I. and Staley, K, ed. Computational Neuroscience in Epilepsy. Amsterdam; London: Academic Press, 2008, pp.132-140.
• Roopun AK, Kramer MA, Carracedo LM, Kaiser M, Davies CH, Traub RD, Kopell NJ, Whittington MA. Period concatenation underlies interactions between gamma and beta rhythms in neocortex. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 2008, 2, 1.
• Roopun AK, Kramer MA, Carracedo LM, Kaiser M, Davies CH, Traub RD, Kopell NJ, Whittington MA. Temporal interactions between cortical rhythms. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2008, 2(2), 145-154.
• Kaiser M. Brain architecture: a design for natural computation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 2007, 365(1861), 3033-3045.
• Kaiser M. Brain architecture: a design for natural computation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London Series A 2007, 365, 3033­-3045.
• Kaiser M, Gorner M, Hilgetag CC. Criticality of spreading dynamics in hierarchical cluster networks without inhibition. New Journal of Physics 2007, 9(110).
• Kaiser M, Hilgetag CC. Development of multi-cluster cortical networks by time windows for spatial growth. Neurocomputing 2007, 70(10-12), 1829-1832.
• Nisbach F, Kaiser M. Developmental time windows for spatial growth generate multiple-cluster small-world networks. European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems 2007, 58(2), 185-191.
• Hilgetag CC, Kaiser M. Organization and function of complex cortical networks. In: Graben, P; Zhou, C; Thiel, M; Kurths, J, ed. Lectures in Supercomputational Neuroscience: Dynamics in Complex Brain Networks. Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer, 2007, pp.107-133.
• Costa L da F, Kaiser M, Hilgetag CC. Predicting the connectivity of primate cortical networks from topological and spatial node properties. BMC Systems Biology 2007, 1(16).
• Kaiser M, Martin R, Andras P, Young MP. Simulation of robustness against lesions of cortical networks. European Journal of Neuroscience 2007, 25(10), 3185-3192.
• Kaiser M, Hilgetag CC. Nonoptimal component placement, but short processing paths, due to long-distance projections in neural systems. PLoS Computational Biology 2006, 2(7), e95 (0805-0815).
• Lappe M, Kuhlmann S, Oerke B, Kaiser M. The fate of object features during perisaccadic mislocalization. Journal of Vision 2006, 6(11), 1282-1293.
• Hilgetag CC, Kaiser M. Clustered organization of cortical connectivity. Neuroinformatics 2004, 2(3), 353-360.
• Kaiser M, Hilgetag CC. Edge vulnerability in neural and metabolic networks. Biological Cybernetics 2004, 90(5), 311-317.
• Sporns O, Chialvo DR, Kaiser M, Hilgetag C-C. Organization, Development and Function of Complex Brain Networks. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2004, 8(9), 418-425.
• Kaiser M, Lappe M. Perisaccadic mislocalization orthogonal to saccade direction. Neuron 2004, 41(2), 293-300.
• Kaiser M, Hilgetag CC. Spatial growth of real-world networks. Physical Review E 2004, 69(3), 036103.