🌟 Presented by Advancing Mentoring and the Professoriate for Inclusive Excellence

The Office of Advancing Mentoring and the Professoriate presents

Engagement & Research Seminar Series featuring

Stephanie Sandoval-Pistorius, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scholar, Starr Lab, University of California, San Francisco

From Mutation to Modulation: Deep Brain Stimulation and Multiscale Dysfunction in Monogenic Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD), the second most common age-dependent neurodegenerative disorder in the United States. 10-15% of PD cases are linked to known genetic mutations, of which glucocerebrosidase (GBA), leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), and parkin (PRKN) gene mutations are most common. Each of these genotypes have slight differences in disease manifestation, most notably concerning cognitive decline. Interestingly, up to 30% of PD patients receiving deep brain stimulation (DBS), an effective treatment for PD, have a monogenic form of PD (mPD). Studies comparing mPD and sporadic PD (sPD) suggest that DBS outcomes vary based on genotype. Genotype-specific neurophysiology underlying divergent DBS responses is not understood. Individuals with mPD implanted with bi-directional DBS systems capable of sensing local field potentials (LFP) while providing therapeutic stimulation offer a unique opportunity to explore interactions between system and protein dysfunction in PD; and may elucidate mechanisms underlying mPD DBS response variability. However, LFPs are an intermediary level of neural activity. Single neuron activity plays a role in LFP generation, and its propagation may lead to network-wide dysfunction. A multiscale approach is needed to deepen our understanding of circuitry dysfunction in PD, potentially leading to individualized approaches to advanced DBS applications. Dr. Sandoval-Pistorius will share her ongoing work using neural recordings, including novel subgaleal cortical implants, and imaging tools in unraveling molecular and circuitry dysregulation in PD.

Lunch served starting at 11:30am, research talk with Q&A from 12:00 - 1:00pm.
Everyone interested is welcome.

About

Stephanie Sandoval-Pistorius is a postdoctoral scholar in the Starr Lab at UCSF and a NIH D-SPAN scholar. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Michigan where she studied molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease. While in the Starr lab, Sandoval-Pistorius is establishing a minimally invasive method for recording long-term cortical local field potentials in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Her long-term goal is to study Parkinson’s disease from an interdisciplinary perspective by investigating how changes at the molecular level can lead to larger circuity dysfunction. She has begun this work in the Starr lab by investigating potential physiological variations in individuals with Parkinson’s disease linked genetic mutations. Sandoval-Pistorius is passionate about and committed to mentorship, advocacy, and outreach of individuals from backgrounds that have been historically underserved and excluded in the sciences in hopes of improving equity, and inclusion in academia and medicine.

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