Home Department: Undeclared
Mentor: Aaron Gitler (Genetics)

"Investigating the link between viral infection and immune system activity in ALS pathogenesis: Can a virus cause ALS?"

ALS, a neurodegenerative disease. Specifically, Emily will investigate whether chronic or overactive immune responses cause inflammation that could harm motor neurons. Emily’s project will be a collaboration between the Gitler lab and the lab of Dr. Geldsetzer, whose work linked shingles vaccination to reduced dementia risk. Emily will examine patient cohorts for evidence of prior viral exposure or lingering viral material and relate these findings to immune activation and disease features. Emily’s work aims to uncover a novel viral–immune mechanism underlying ALS.