What are you currently working on? “I am currently a first-year student in the clinical anatomy master's program working under the supervision of Dr. Shawn Whitehead. My project focuses on evaluating the relationship between vascular stress and microglial activation in a transgenic rat model of Alzheimer's disease. I'm specifically exploring how aging, neuroinflammation and loss of the blood-brain barrier integrity contribute to Alzheimer's disease. Some techniques I'm using include immunohistochemistry, microscopy, image analysis, and by using markers of vascular stress, I can determine if they are responding to activated microglia. Finally, I can see how that contributes to Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.”
“Seeing this deterioration firsthand has driven me to get involved with this kind of research.” Any future research goals you’d like to share? “I hope to eventually further my research in contributing to specifically neurodegenerative diseases. For me, this hits close to home as my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease about seven years ago. Seeing this deterioration firsthand has driven me to get involved with this kind of research. I think something that particularly interests me is that individuals with vascular risk factors such as diabetes and mid-life hypertension are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. So, by focusing on the various contributing factors, we can come up with effective preventative measures, even as simple as lifestyle changes which may decrease the overall inflammatory load on the body and Alzheimer's disease risk drastically. After my master's though, I would like to further my education in medicine. But, I am still really interested in this research.”
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Hannah Martin Graduate Student MSc Clinical Anatomy Candidate Contact Info hmarti28@uwo.ca
