Ahmed Negida

Ahmed Negida

MD, PhD

Translational & Clinical Research Scientist

Postdoctoral Scholar
VCU Parkinson's & Movement Disorders Center
Department of Neurology, Virginia Commonwealth University

100+
Publications
7,000+
Citations
40+
H-Index
35,000+
Trainees
Google Scholar GitHub Contact

Research Program

Precision medicine for neurodegenerative diseases through biomarker integration and computational methods

My research aims to improve care for patients with Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, and Alzheimer's disease through precision medicine approaches. Disease-modifying trials often struggle because heterogeneous populations are treated as uniform entities. I work to address this challenge by integrating multimodal biomarkers—neuroimaging, EEG, fluid biomarkers—to help stratify patients into biologically meaningful subtypes.

Theme 1

Cognitive Fluctuations & Cholinergic Systems in Lewy Body Disease

Developing EEG-based biomarkers for cognitive fluctuations using NASA's Psychomotor Vigilance Test combined with resting-state and task-based EEG. Developed an MRI-based approach to subtype PD-MCI based on cholinergic nucleus 4 degeneration markers.

EEG-fMRI Integration Neuromodulation Cholinergic Targeting
Theme 2

Pathology-Driven Stratification (ATNM Framework)

Extended the Alzheimer's ATN framework to include Memory impairment (ATNM) and synuclein-vascular components (ATN-SV). Integrates α-synuclein quantification, plasma biomarkers, and MRI vascular measures for pathology classification.

Biomarker Integration Trial Enrichment Precision Therapeutics
Theme 3

Data-Driven PD Subtyping & Progression Modeling

Conducted comprehensive analysis of PD progression across clinical, pathological, and data-driven subtypes using 10-year PPMI data. Developed disease-duration-specific percentiles for prospective diffuse-malignant identification at diagnosis.

Machine Learning Longitudinal Modeling Clinical Translation

Research Tools & Software

Open-source tools developed for clinical neuroscience research

Vol-HD

Movement Disorders, 2024

Online calculator for predicting striatal volumes in Huntington's Disease patients using demographic and clinical variables, enabling pre-screening for clinical trials of intrastriatal gene therapies.

Huntington's Disease MRI Volumetrics Clinical Trials
Paper → GitHub →

CNN-PD

Deep Learning · Open Source

Convolutional neural network for automated detection of Parkinson's Disease from healthy controls using structural T1-weighted MRI data with high cross-validated classification performance.

Parkinson's Disease Deep Learning MRI Classification
GitHub →

Negida-FE-Toolbox

EEG Analysis · Open Source

Feature extraction toolbox for extracting dominant frequency features from EEG signals in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Enables biomarker development for cognitive fluctuations.

EEG Analysis Feature Extraction MATLAB
GitHub →

PD-MCI Ch4 Subtyping Tool

Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 2025

Imaging-based subtype tool for PD-MCI using cholinergic nucleus 4 (NBM) gray matter density. Helps identify patients with cholinergic vulnerability markers for treatment selection.

Parkinson's Disease MCI Subtyping Cholinergic System
Paper → Online Tool →

PD Subtyping Tool

npj Parkinson's Disease, 2025

Interactive tool for clinical, pathological, and data-driven subtyping of Parkinson's Disease. Comprehensive framework integrating 10-year longitudinal data for precision medicine.

Disease Subtyping Precision Medicine Progression Prediction
Paper → Online Tool →

Neuroimaging Pipelines

End-to-End Workflows

Comprehensive pipelines for structural, functional, and diffusion MRI analysis including VBM, cortical thickness, DTI-ALPS for glymphatic function, and multimodal integration.

SPM12/CAT12 FSL/FreeSurfer MATLAB
GitHub →

Education & Training

August 2025

IMPACT-AD Fellowship

National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH · San Diego, CA

Institute on Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD. Advanced training in Alzheimer's and related dementias clinical trial design and methodology.

March 2023 – Present

Postdoctoral Scholar

VCU Parkinson's & Movement Disorders Center · Richmond, VA

Research on cognitive fluctuations in Lewy Body Dementia, multimodal biomarker integration, and precision medicine. Mentors: Matthew J. Barrett, MD, MSc and Brian D. Berman, MD, MS.

July 2021 – March 2023

Research Fellow

Harvard Medical School, Program in Global Surgery · Boston, MA

Assessed global neurological care delivery systems across 50+ countries. Quantified social determinants of neurological health disparities using advanced geospatial modeling.

May 2022

Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences

University of Portsmouth · United Kingdom

Dissertation: "The Hope and the Hype in Parkinson's Disease Treatments" — Meta-research, evidence synthesis, and critical appraisal of neuroprotective interventions.

March – September 2019

Research Fellow

Bahçeşehir University, Department of Neurological Surgery · Istanbul, Turkey

Evaluated deep brain stimulation outcomes in Parkinson's and Huntington's disease patients using advanced statistical methods.

December 2018

M.B.B.Ch. in Medicine and Surgery

Zagazig University · Egypt

Medical degree with Very Good grade. Foundation in clinical medicine and early research experience.

Teaching & Mentorship

Contributing to research education and training

Negida Research Academy

Founded in 2015, Negida Research Academy is a global virtual training platform delivering comprehensive research education. The Academy conducts two structured cohort-based training camps annually, each training approximately 1,200 researchers over 8-12 weeks.

35,000+
Total Trainees
20+
Countries
2,500+
Active Members
50+
Mentees Published

Comprehensive curricula covering research design, biostatistics, data analysis, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, scientific writing, and grant preparation. Multiple mentees have secured competitive fellowships at Harvard Medical School, Cleveland Clinic, Yale, and Duke University.

Visit Negida Academy →

Specialized Neuroimaging Course

Developed the first neuroimaging analysis course in Arabic for the Middle East region, teaching MRI preprocessing, VBM, and fMRI analysis using MATLAB/SPM12/CAT12.

Courses Prepared to Teach

Computational Neuroscience · Machine Learning in Medicine · Clinical Research Methods · Translational Neurology · Scientific Writing · Biostatistics · Neuroimaging Analysis Workshops

Selected Invited Lectures

"PD-MCI with MRI Evidence of Cholinergic Nucleus 4 Degeneration" (VCU, 2025) · "Using Advanced Data Models to Study Neurodegenerative Diseases" (VCU, 2024) · "Disease Modification in Neurodegeneration" (IBRO, Tunisia, 2022)

50+
Junior researchers mentored to first-author publications

Technical Skills

Neuroimaging & EEG

  • Structural MRI: VBM, cortical thickness, subcortical volumetry
  • Functional MRI: Resting-state connectivity, ICA, graph theory
  • Diffusion MRI: DTI, tractography, ALPS-index
  • EEG: Spectral power, connectivity, microstate analysis
  • SPM12, CAT12, FSL, FreeSurfer, MRtrix
  • EEGLAB, Brainstorm, Conn Toolbox

Machine Learning & Statistics

  • Supervised: SVM, Random Forest, XGBoost
  • Unsupervised: K-means, hierarchical clustering, PCA
  • Deep Learning: CNNs for medical imaging
  • Explainable AI: SHAP values, feature importance
  • MATLAB, R, Stata, SPSS, JASP

Clinical Research Methods

  • Large database analysis: PPMI, NACC, PDBP, ADNI, OASIS
  • Systematic reviews & meta-analysis: GRADE methodology
  • Study design: Cohort, case-control, clinical trials (I-III)
  • Biostatistics: Survival analysis, mixed models, PSM
  • Data harmonization, missing data imputation

Selected Publications

100+
Publications
7,000+
Citations
40+
H-Index
90+
i10-Index

Parkinson's disease mild cognitive impairment with MRI evidence of cholinergic nucleus 4 degeneration: A new subtype?

Negida A, Vohra HZ, Lageman SK, Mukhopadhyay N, Berman BD, Weintraub D, Barrett MJ · Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 2025

Comparative analysis of progression milestones across PD clinical, pathological, and data-driven subtypes: 10-year follow-up

Negida A, Mukhopadhyay N, Berman BD, et al. · npj Parkinson's Disease, 2025

Cholinesterase inhibitors for patients with dementia: Patterns of prescribing and disparities in treatment

Heo RJ, Negida A, Barrett MJ, et al. · Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2026

Patterns and predictors of cholinesterase inhibitor use in dementia with Lewy bodies

Heo RJ, Negida A, Wyman-Chick KA, et al. · Alzheimer's & Dementia: TRCI, 2025

Optimizing screening for intrastriatal interventions in Huntington's disease using predictive models

Barrett MJ, Negida A, Mukhopadhyay N, et al. · Movement Disorders, 2024

Statins and Parkinson's disease risk reduction and disease-modification: A meta-analysis of 4 million participants

Mady A, Nabil Y, ... Negida A · CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 2024

Caffeine: The forgotten potential for Parkinson's disease

Negida A, Elfil M, Attia A, et al. · CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets, 2017 150+ Citations

C-Abl inhibition: A novel therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease

Abushouk AI, Negida A, et al. · CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets, 2018 100+ Citations

View All Publications →

Collaborative Networks & Service

Global NeuroSurg Research Collaborative

Co-founded an international network of neurosurgeons, neurologists, and neuroscientists across 50+ countries. Contributed to the design and execution of GNS-1: a multicenter global traumatic brain injury study with 2,000+ patients across 20+ countries.

500+
Collaborators
50+
Countries
2,000+
Patients in GNS-1

Honors & Recognition

IMPACT-AD Fellowship (NIA/NIH, 2025) · U.S. Permanent Residency via EB-2 National Interest Waiver in Biomedical Sciences · Sigma Xi Scientific Honor Society · Multiple international travel grants and awards from professional societies across USA, Europe, Singapore, Canada, and Korea.

90+
i10-Index
150+
Verified Reviews

Professional Service

Guidelines Committees: North American Neuromodulation Society · European Association of Neurosurgical Societies

Editorial Boards: Frontiers in Neurology (Dementia & Neurodegenerative Disease) · PLOS ONE · Current Neuropharmacology · Medicine

Memberships: International Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Society · American Academy of Neurology · International and North American Neuromodulation Societies · Sigma Xi

Contact

Current Affiliation

Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center
Department of Neurology
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA, USA

✉️ ahmed.said.negida@gmail.com
📞 +1 (347) 251-3472
🌐 U.S. Permanent Resident (Green Card)

Consultation Services

Through DataCliNiX, I offer research consultation services including study design, statistical analysis, neuroimaging analysis, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, medical writing, and clinical research training.

Book a Consultation DataCliNiX