Congratulations to Ashley Bolte, Recipient of an NIH F30 – Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award

Ashley Bolte was recently awarded an NIH F30, Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows Award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), which begins on 9/1/20.  Ashley is a Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology (MIC) Department degree candidate in the lab of John Lukens. She is studying the role of the meningeal lymphatic system in the context of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Each year over 2 million individuals suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet it is unknown why TBI results in debilitating long-term sequelae including chronic traumatic encephalopathy, depression, and dementia. In her preliminary studies, they find that TBI results in long-lasting impairments in central nervous system (CNS) lymphatic drainage, and her early work suggests that disruption of this CNS drainage system can negatively impact disease outcomes after TBI. This project may shed light on new avenues for treatment and management through CNS lymphatic system modulation that could minimize negative outcomes.