Jacob Stagray

Jacob Stagray is a postdoctoral associate in the department of neurology at Yale University under the guidance of Dr. Srikant Rangaraju. In this role, Jacob is characterizing behavioral, histological, and proteomic outputs involving alterations to astrocytic end feet during inflammation in both health and disease. His current research is aimed at characterizing physiological alterations involved in glial-vascular units (GVU) dysfunction associated with disrupted overall blood brain barrier (BBB) maintenance and integrity in Alzheimer’s disease.

During his first postdoctoral position, Jacob worked in the department of neuroscience at Yale University in the laboratory of Dr. Heather D. Snell. In this role, Jacob became trained in ex vivo extracellular electrophysiology recordings using mice cerebellar slices. He examined the effects of mutated calcium channel (Cav2.1) on Purkinje cell intrinsic firing patterns in several cerebellar ataxia mice models.

He completed his PhD in environmental and evolutionary biology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Müller Smith. His dissertation research involved the effects of FGFR1 on radial glial/astrocyte differentiation profiles in distinct brain limbic regions (Hypothalamus/ Hippocampus). These projects involved behavioral paradigms, glucose physiological assays, and histological characterizations.

Prior to his PhD, Jacob completed molecular biological coursework and research training in the department of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Science Center- Shreveport in the lab of Dr. Andrew Yurochko. In this role, he was involved in characterizing potential preferential infectivity associated with distinct monocyte populations circulating in the peripheral blood flow. He also worked at the Tulane National Primate Research Center and the New Iberia Research Center in two virology-based labs associated with comparative pathology, viral infections, and potential therapeutic intervention strategies targeting HSV-2 and HIV-1.

Long term, Jacob desires to establish his own wet bench research lab aimed at characterizing inter-connected physiological relationships between alterations in metabolism, vasculature, and cellular circuitry involved in dementia (Alzheimer’s disease) and deleterious effects accrued during the typical aging process. Jacob’s research interests are centered around providing insights on mechanisms governing astrocyte mediated modulation of glial, immune, and neuronal modulatory systems involved in neurodegenerative and behavioral affective disorders.