Prof Petra Vertes
Professor in Systems and Computational Neuroscience, University of Cambridge
Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute in London
Visiting Researcher at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge
Co-founder of the Cambridge Networks Network
Personal Statement
My research applies tools from physics, engineering and network science to fundamental problems in neuroscience and mental health. In particular, I am interested in the structure-function relationship in brain networks, from the microscopic scale of neurons to the large-scale connectivity of brain regions, in both health and disease.
I work with a wide variety of multivariate data, including genetic and transcriptomic data, flow cytometry and neuroimaging data in humans and animal models. I also study simpler organisms, such as C. elegans, which provide a testbed for methodological innovations as well as insights into generalisable aspects of brain organisation, brain development, network dysfunction and repair.
I received a masters degree in theoretical physics and a PhD in artificial neural networks from the University of Cambridge, UK. I am also one of the co-founders and organizers of the Cambridge Networks Network (CNN), a forum for academics across different disciplines who share an interest in Network Science. I was awarded an MRC fellowship in Bioinformatics in 2014, followed by an MQ Fellowship in 2018, and a lectureship position in the School of Mathematics at Queen Mary University of London. I am currently a Professor at the University of Cambridge, where I lead the Systems and Computational Neuroscience group, in the Department of Psychiatry.
Useful Links
Full list of publications at Google Scholar
Follow on Twitter @petra_vertes
Research Groups
Systems and Computational Neuroscience
Brain Mapping Unit
Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network
Contact
Featured Publications
Dear R, Seidlitz J, Markello RD, Arnatkeviciute A, …, and Vértes PE. (2023) “Three transcriptional axes underpin anatomy, development, and disorders of the human cortex” bioRxiv 2022.10.05.510582
Ripoll Sanchez L, Watteyne J, Sun H, Fernandez R, …, Vértes PE* and Schafer WR*. (2023) “The neuropeptidergic connectome of C. elegans” bioRxiv 2022.10.30.514396
Dorfschmidt L, Bethlehem RAI, Vása F, Romero-Garcia R, …, Vértes PE* and Bullmore ET*. (2022) “Sexually divergent adolescent brain network development is co-located with imaging and transcriptomic phenotypes of depression” Science Advances, 8 (21), eabm7825.
Vása F, Romero-Garcia R, Kitzbichler MG, Seiflitz J, …, Vértes PE* and Bullmore ET*. (2020) “Conservative and disruptive modes of adolescent change in human brain functional connectivity” PNAS 117 (6), 3248-3253.
Morgan SE, Seidlitz J, Whitaker KJ, Romero-Garcia R, Clifton NE, Scarpazza C, van Amelsvoort T, Marcelis M, … , Vértes PE*, Bullmore ET*. (2019) “Cortical patterning of abnormal morphometric similarity in psychosis is associated with brain expression of schizophrenia-related genes” PNAS 116 (19) 9604-9609.
Etkin A*, Fonzo G*,Wu W*, Huemer J*, Patenaude B*, Vértes PE*, et al. (2019) “Using fMRI connectivity to define a treatment-resistant form of post-traumatic stress disorder” Science Translational Medicine 11 (486) eaal3236.
Yan G*, Vértes PE*, Towlson EK*, Chew YL, Walker DS, Schafer WR, Barabási AL (2017) “Network control principles predict neuron function in the Caenorhabditis elegans connectome” Nature 550 (7677): 519-523
Vértes PE, Alexander-Bloch AF, Gogtay N, Giedd JN, Rapoport JL, Bullmore ET (2012) “Simple models of human brain functional networks.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109(15):5868-73.