Lab Members: Julia Hill
Julie received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence, class of 2006, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Neuroscience at UT Houston. Her current project is focused on examining the role of the AMP-activated Kinase (AMPK) in hippocampal cell loss and neurogenesis following traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern, representing the leading cause of death under the age of 45. Clinical and experimental work have shown that there is prolonged metabolic dysfunction in the brain following TBI, which may contribute to secondary pathologies and cell loss. AMPK is an energy-sensing signaling cascade that has been shown to regulate both metabolism as well as synaptic plasticity and cognition. My project investigates the role of metabolism in TBI pathology, and seeks to determine the therapeutic potential of targeting AMPK activity to improve outcome following brain injury.
Hill JL, Zhao J, Dash PK (2010). High blood glucose does not adversely affect outcome in moderate brain injured rodents. Journal of Neurotrauma 27(8): 1439-48.
Hill JL, Patel S, Gu X, Seyedali NS, Bachevalier J, and Sereno AB (2010). Social orienting: reflexive versus voluntary control. Vision Research, 50(20): 2080-92.
