Novel Digital Technologies and Biomarkers to Characterise Depression

The development of new treatment options for depression is hindered by a lack of objective, clinically relevant outcome measures that can adequately capture daily fluctuations in mood and cognition. Novel digital technologies offer the potential for more objective and precise symptom detection, but which best characterise depression?

In efforts to address this question, Novartis evaluated seven digital technologies spanning eye-tracking in the clinic to the daily use of a Cambridge Cognition mobile app at home. Recently published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, the researchers covered:

• Which technologies are useful to distinguish between depressed and healthy subjects?
• Can we build accurate classifiers (depressed vs. healthy) using parsimonious models with select digital biomarkers?
• Can we explain between-subject variation in MADRS (and possibly predict individual MADRS scores) using digital biomarker data?

In this webinar, experts from Novartis and Cambridge Cognition will share lessons learned evaluating novel digital endpoints and building parsimonious models with high diagnostic accuracy and the potential to predict a standard clinical outcome for patients with depression.

Speakers

Dr. Francesca Cormack, Director of Research & Innovation, Cambridge Cognition

Francesca Cormack is Director of Research and Innovation at Cambridge Cognition. She has worked to develop and validate novel cognitive testing methodology to support high-frequency near patient testing using wearable, mobile and voice technology, providing insights into cognitive health in a range of patient groups. Francesca obtained a Ph.D. in Dementia with Lewy Bodies at Newcastle University, followed by post-doctoral and academic positions at University College London and at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry and maintains academic collaborations focused on neurological disorders, ageing and psychiatry.

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Dr. Jelena Curcic, Senior Data Scientist, Novartis

Dr. Jelena Curcic is a Senior Data Scientist working at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) in Basel, Switzerland with the expertise in development, deployment and advanced analytics of digital biomarkers in Neuroscience. Her special topics of interest are cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease and mood disorders. She holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from ETH in Zurich, Switzerland with a completely different topic of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Gastrointestinal Tract.

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Dr. Kristin Hannesdottir, Translational Medicine and Clinical Endpoint Expert, Novartis

Kristin is a translational medicine and clinical endpoint expert at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. She holds a Ph.D. in Neuropsychology from King’s College University of London and more than 20 years of progressive experience in the field of neuroscience (12 years thereof in industry). Kristin has specialized in Alzheimer’s disease early clinical drug development and greatly appreciates the limitations we are faced with many of our current clinical endpoints and the need for innovation.

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