I am interested in studying the role of neuroinflammation in promoting resilience to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of age-related dementia, but the underlying causal mechanisms of AD neurodegenerative phenotypes are relatively unknown. Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, are known to participate in pruning of neuronal synapses under homeostatic conditions, and produce diverse activation states in the AD brain with relatively unknown consequence. By combining the Howell lab's expertise in mouse genetics and neurodegeneration, my background in immunology and genetics, and collaborative resources at JAX, we are investigating how states of activated microglia cause susceptibility to neurodegenerative phenotypes at the level of the neuronal synapse.
Education:
Tufts University, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Ph.D., Mammalian Genetics
Advisor: Gareth Howell, Ph.D.
2017-present
University of Virginia
B.Sc. Chemistry, Specialization in Biochemistry
(minor: Sociology)
2011-2015
Experience:
Graduate Researcher
Howell Laboratory
The Jackson Laboratory,
Bar Harbor, ME
2020-current
Graduate Researcher
Kaczorowski Laboratory
The Jackson Laboratory,
Bar Harbor, ME
2018-2020
Investigative Research Analyst
AMPEL BioSolutions, LLC
Charlottesville, VA
2015-2017
Undergraduate Researcher
Kashatus Laboratory
The University of Virginia School of Medicine,
Dept. Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology
Charlottesville, VA
2013-2015