Thomas Nichols
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nichols.bsky.social
Thomas Nichols
@nichols.bsky.social
Professor of Neuroimaging Statistics
Oxford Big Data Institute
Nuffield Department of Population Health
University of Oxford
All made possible by an innovative Factor Analysis + Hidden Markov Model. See paper & supp for details

Ganjgahi et al. ‘AI-Driven Reclassification of Multiple Sclerosis Progression’. Nature Medicine, Nature Publishing Group, 20 August 2025, 1–11. doi.org/10.1038/s415....
AI-driven reclassification of multiple sclerosis progression - Nature Medicine
Using large cohorts from published clinical trials involving more than 8,000 patients with multiple sclerosis, a probabilistic machine learning model reconstructs the transition probabilities from data-derived diseases statuses, showing patterns that suggest how progression to severe stages occur and potential inversion of the process.
doi.org
August 20, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Well known diagnostic labels (RRMS, SPMS, PPMS) do not explain these states, showing their limitations. This is an important contribution to developing more fully data-driven perspectives on MS disease heterogeneity.
August 20, 2025 at 12:15 PM
This is a key output of the Oxford Big Data Institute-Novartis Collaboration for AI in Medicine. The paper represents a huge, collaborative effort, with replication done on data from another pharma company (Roche) and another large dataset (MS PATHS).

www.bdi.ox.ac.uk/research/oxf...
Oxford Novartis Collaboration for AI in Medicine
www.bdi.ox.ac.uk
August 20, 2025 at 12:15 PM
This is a gem… really enjoyed reading about stats theory legend Gauss trudging across the countryside surveying.
August 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
FYI, this link comes from Poster Presenter's page
humanbrainmapping.org/i4a/pages/in...
Poster Presenters | Organization for Human Brain Mapping
humanbrainmapping.org
June 24, 2025 at 12:20 AM
FYI, linked from Poster Presenters page
humanbrainmapping.org/i4a/pages/in...
Poster Presenters | Organization for Human Brain Mapping
humanbrainmapping.org
June 24, 2025 at 12:19 AM