Biography
I earned my PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University in 2022, where my dissertation focused on a new signaling pathway mediating neuromuscular junction structure and excitability. For my postdoctoral research, I use a genetically diverse Alzheimer’s disease model to uncover cell-type specific signatures of cognitive resilience in the excitatory cortical neuron proteome.
Areas of Interest
My overarching goal is to discover mechanisms mediating synaptic maintenance and stability that can be harnessed to prevent or treat neurodegenerative diseases affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems. My dissertation explored new signaling pathways regulating synaptic stability and excitability at the neuromuscular junction. For my current training, I am using systems genetics to identify genes and proteins conferring resilience to Alzheimer's pathology in the brain with the goal of finding mechanisms that can be used to protect cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients.
Honors & Awards
- Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship
- Society for Neuroscience Trainee Professional Development Award
- Brown University Carney Institute for Brain Science Graduate Award
- American Heart Association Undergraduate Student Summer Fellowship Award
Credentials
- PhD; Neuroscience; Brown University (2022)
- BA; Cell Biology & Neuroscience; Rutgers University (2016)
Published Articles or Reviews
- Jaime, D.*, Fish, L.A.*, Madigan, L.A., Xi, C., Piccoli, G., Ewing, M.D., Blaauw, B., Fallon, J.R., The MuSK-BMP pathway maintains myofiber size in slow muscle through regulation of Akt-mTOR signaling. Skeletal Muscle 14, 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13395-023-00329-9
- *denotes equal contribution
- Fish, L.A., Fallon, J.R., “Multiple MuSK signaling pathways and the aging neuromuscular junction.” Neuroscience Letters. 2020; 731:135014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135014
- Ishikawa, K., Fish, K.M., Aguero, J., Yaniz-Galende, E., Jeong, D., Kho, C., Tilemann, L., Fish, L.A., Liang, L., Eltoukhy, A.A., Anderson, D.G., Zsebo, K., Costa, K., Hajjar, R.J., “Stem cell factor gene transfer improves cardiac function after myocardial infarction in swine,” Circulation: Heart Failure. 2014;8(1):167-74. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.114.001711
- Ishikawa, K., Aguero, J., Oh J.G., Hammoudi, N., Fish, L.A., Leanordson, L, Picatoste, B., Santos-Gallego, C., Fish K., Hajjar. R. “Increased stiffness is the major early abnormality in a pig model of severe aortic stenosis and predisposes to congestive heart failure in the absence of systolic dysfunction,” Journal of the American Heart Association, 2015; 4(5):e001925. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.115.001925