Graduate Student Fellow Working to Fight Neurodegenerative Diseases

BME PhD Rhea Carlson is delving deep into how the brain works from a dramatically novel perspective. The Herbold Fellow is contributing to imaging research aimed at diagnosing and treating brain disorders.

“This research has implications for understanding diseases that are characterized by the accumulation of proteins in the brain, such as Alzheimer’s Disease or Parkinson’s Disease,” said Carlson.

Using MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, in the Multi-Scale Brain Imaging Lab, she is tracking the movement of molecular waste, a normal byproduct of neuron activity that can build up in the aging brain.

The lab is investigating possible connections between a slowdown in the recently discovered glymphatic system – thought to clear the naturally occurring waste as it moves cerebrospinal fluid through brain tissue and around blood vessels – and the buildup of toxic proteins that increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

“I hope that it can help build the foundation to better understand these diseases,” said Carlson, one of five students at UA to receive an annual Herbold Fellowship.

Select universities across the country receive Herbold Fellowships for graduate students applying data science and computation in their studies and research.