Education
BS, Bioengineering, Rutgers University, 2014
ME, Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2018
PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2018-present
Research Interests
Traumatic Brain Injury, Neural Stem Cells, Neurons, Notch Gene, Cellular, Molecular
Research Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI), defined as a mild to severe shock to the head that disrupts normal brain function, can result from sport injuries, vehicular accidents, and falls. TBI, which can lead to temporary or permanent loss of memory and motor function, was responsible for 2.2 million emergency department visits and 50,000 deaths in 2014 (CDC, 2015). The primary injury is irreversible, with treatments focusing on decreasing the secondary injury to minimize cell death and nervous tissue damage, which are often insufficient in patients with significant injury. However, TBI induces endogenous neural stem cell (NSC) activation, where the activated NSCs can integrate into neuronal circuitry and play a role in learning, memory, and motor functions. Unfortunately, the extent of NSC activation (e.g., proliferation, migration, differentiation) and the genes driving this NSC activation upon TBI are not well characterized. Understanding this NSC activation after injury will aid in the development of novel therapeutics promoting neurogenesis and functional recovery. Our overall objective is to investigate what cellular and transcriptome changes are induced in NSCs after TBI with hopes that the neurogenic response can be promoted to aid injury repair post-TBI. We believe that the endogenous NSCs respond to TBI and have the potential to recover TBI-induced cell damage. Understanding this response can identify genes associated with neurogenesis post-TBI and provide a basis for the development of new therapies. Our goal is to characterize the activation of endogenous NSCs after TBI to determine their potential in injury repair and neural regeneration by: 1) using a clinically relevant closed head injury (CHI) model with Notch1CR2-GFP transgenic mice, to identify GFP+ NSC response to injury, and 2) identifying molecular changes driving injury-induced NSC response.
Awards & Honors
School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Travel Award, 2017
Rutgers University NIH Biotechnology Training Program Predoctoral Fellowship, 2015-2017
Rutgers University School of Engineering Fellowship, 2014-2015
Publications
J. Anderson, M. Patel, Q. Wade, R. Risman, and L. Cai, A NotchCR2-GFP transgenic mouse model for the study of traumatic brain injury. (Submitted to Brain Research, March 2019).
J. Anderson and M. Hussain, Development of a droplet digital PCR method for E. coli host residual DNA quantification, Biomolecular Detection and Quantification, Pharmacology & Pharmacy, April 2018. https://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=84324
Y. Li, J. Anderson, K.Y. Kwan, and L. Cai, Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis of Neural Stem Cells, Review Paper, Curr. Pharmacol. Rep, February 2017. PMCID: PMC5984046. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5984046/
Representative Graduate Courses Taken
BME Math Modeling
Biosignal Processing
Biomaterials & Biomechanics
Kinetics of Thermodynamics & Transport
Nano & Micro Biointerfaces
Adult & Stem Cell Dynamics
Leadership & Outreach
Graduate Research Mentor (2014-Present)
Teaching Assistant (2015-2016, 2019)
BME Honors Academy Mentor (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Biotech Training Program Advisory Board (2017-2018)
Rise Research Mentor (2016, 2017)