A Multifaceted Approach to Understanding Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease
Jaime M. Ross, Ph.D. joined the University of Rhode Island Faculty in October 2019 and is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience within the George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy. Dr. Ross is a native of Southern Vermont and attended Saint Lawrence University, where she studied Neuroscience and Fine Arts. Dr. Ross obtained her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences in the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health Graduate Partnerships Program. Thereafter, she completed post-doctoral training at both Karolinska Institute and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Ross’ overall research interests are to use genetic and genomic approaches to understand the basic mechanisms of disease, focusing on aging and age-related diseases, and in particular brain aging disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Her lab is most interested in understanding the interconnectedness of environmental and lifestyle factors on mitochondrial dysfunction [energy metabolism], epigenetics [gene expression], and chronic inflammation in aging and disease states in order to develop novel biomarkers and therapies. Current projects also include understanding the lifecycle of microplastics in the body and their impact on brain health outcomes.
Dr. Ross has made seminal contributions to understanding the aging process and is author to more than 20 publications. Her research accomplishments have led to several noteworthy awards and fellowships, including a K99/R00 award from the National Institute on Aging. She also has served as Guest Editor and is on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Experimental Gerontology, and International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Outside of the laboratory, Dr. Ross enjoys experimenting in the kitchen as well as in her art studio.