Evan Newbold

Evan Newbold is a fifth-year neuroscience graduate student at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He received his undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College where he was also a Division I swimmer. Newbold is currently in the Nedergaard lab where his research focuses on the glymphatic system, the brain’s waste removal system, and whether it could be used as a delivery system for therapeutics.

“The blood-brain barrier is a major challenge in terms of central nervous system therapeutic dosing, limiting many therapeutic opportunities,” said Newbold. “Cerebral spinal fluid is not subject to the blood-brain barrier, so if it can indeed reach every corner of the brain and bring material payload, or some sort of therapeutic to the spaces, you might think about cerebral spinal fluid as a route of administration to reach the global brain.”

The University of Rochester has long been a part of Newbold’s life. His father has a PhD in Chemistry from the University. But a 2013 paper in Science put Rochester, particularly the Nedergaard lab, on his radar while he was an undergraduate student. “From there, I kept track of the papers coming out [of that lab], and I thought they did great work,” said Newbold. “I think that was the major draw for me; this is work I am interested in and familiar with. I paid attention to it for a long time.”

That paper became a seminal moment in Newbold's scientific journey, and along with piquing his interest in the lab’s research, it was also an early experience of being able to read and understand a scientific paper. It is part of what has motivated him to become a student mentor. “I feel like there's a big barrier to entry for understanding scientific research papers, so I organized a journal club aimed at the lab’s techs and undergrads to read through, dissect, and understand the papers that came out of our lab, particularly those focused on the glymphatic system. We went back to 2012 and looked at the foundational research that Dr. Maiken Nedergaard and others in the lab published and walked through the papers together to bring everybody up to speed.” In 2024, he received the University’s Edward Peck Curtis Award for Teaching by a Graduate Student.

Growing up in a house where both parents were scientists put Newbold on the scientific trajectory at a young age, but it is perhaps his sisters’ health that had the most influence on his field of study. “I have two younger sisters, both who have struggled with epilepsy throughout their lives,” Newbold said. “I spent a lot of time tagging along with my mom to their neurology appointments. That generated some interest in trying to understand what was happening to them and what was causing it.”

Married with a young son, Newbold enjoys spending time with his family, biking, using their fire pit, and playing board games when he’s not in the lab.