Alaina Reagan, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

I am interested in understanding how age, exercise, and genomic factors influence cerebrovascular function in Alzheimer's Disease and dementia.

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About Alaina Reagan, Ph.D.

Often dementia presents with a cerebrovascular component that contributes to the development of the disease. However, this area of research is understudied because few mouse models represent vascular decline in a way that mimics the human disease. Using the Howell lab's expertise in mouse genetics and my background in vascular biology, we are testing whether genetic perturbations in vascular development increase the risk for cognitive impairment and dementia with age. Additionally, we are interested in how exercise influences cerebrovascular reserve, and if its implementation reduces risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

Research HighlightDecember 14, 2018
Gene knockdown induces deficits reminiscent of aging and Alzheimer's
JAX researchers find that reducing Hp1bp3 expression mimics age-related cognitive decline through mechanisms reminiscent of aging and Alzheimer's disease
Blog PostDecember 11, 2018
Nesting dolls and Narnia
If movies were true to real life, matryoshka dolls would provide a good analogy for genomics research.
Search MagazineNovember 15, 2018
Shedding light on new treatments for vision, eye problems
Recent success at The Jackson Laboratory in delivering corrected genes directly to the mouse eye holds promise for safe and effective gene therapy for inherited eye and vision problems.
Search MagazineOctober 09, 2018
Of mighty mice and men
Pioneering scientist Se-Jin Lee, a leader in the study of muscle development, moves his groundbreaking research program to JAX.

Research HighlightDecember 11, 2018
The unexpected advantages of outbred mice in research
Recently developed outbred mouse populations, such as the diversity outbred (DO) mice at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), have created research options that parallel or even exceed human genetic diversity. Research with DO mice offers a full range of genetic diversity, and therefore more generalizability of responses across populations.
Research HighlightDecember 03, 2018
Hibernating bears provide clues for kidney regeneration
JAX researcher Ron Korstanje is closer to understanding exactly how bear kidneys recover from the damage caused by hibernation.
Tech CornerOctober 11, 2018
Precision medicine and making sense of data
JAX professor calls for concerted effort to align data across patients and systems with comparable and consistent formats and contextual meaning.
Press ReleaseOctober 09, 2018
Advancing therapeutic gene editing
NIH awards $3.5M to JAX under multi-institution Somatic Cell Genome Editing program.

Alaina Reagan, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

About Alaina Reagan, Ph.D.

Education and experience

Education

Experience

Gene knockdown induces deficits reminiscent of aging and Alzheimer's

Nesting dolls and Narnia

Shedding light on new treatments for vision, eye problems

Of mighty mice and men

The unexpected advantages of outbred mice in research

Hibernating bears provide clues for kidney regeneration

Precision medicine and making sense of data

Advancing therapeutic gene editing