Shenee M
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill)
Expertise
Neuroscience, Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, sleep disruption, synapse biology, tau pathology, sleep, memory, brain injury, psychology, traumatic brain injury, cognition, learning & memory
Bio
Hi! My name is Shenee Martin and I am currently a postdoctoral research scholar at UW studying neuroscience, brain injury and neurodegenerative disease. My research focuses on sleep which is the most conserved behavior that we all engage in! I aim to understand how sleep disruption in Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury affects disease progression and treatment. The most exciting part of my research is the potential to utilize sleep as a potential therapy to alleviate the consequences of neurodegenerative diseases and disorders. This disease has been around for decades and I hope to bring some insights into the field using something we all do, sleep! I am originally from the US Virgin Islands so I love the beach and island living. I decided to move to the mainland because of the vast amount of opportunities available and because of my love for science. I spent every summer in my undergraduate education in a new state learning new skills which have informed my scientific journey. Overall, I believe access to science should be open, available and fun. Outside of science, I enjoy thrifting because of the hunt to find that hidden gem. I also enjoy playing volleyball, spending time with my puppy and my family. I really enjoy tutoring and I hope we can have a great time and learn a lot through this process!Project ideas
Sleep disruption profiles in various mouse models of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been studied for decades but we are no closer to understanding the mechanisms of the disease. Because of the vast number of researchers studying AD, there are numerous models used to study the disease. All these models have different sleep profiles, phenotypes, disease onsets, sex differences etc. Therefore, in this project we will compile a document based on extensive literature review about the various models there are. We will focus on sleep profiles in these animals with an emphasis on male and female differences. This information is valuable because it is important to know which model is best to answer your scientific questions. There is a lot of criticism (by other scientists) that can be brought on by the model chosen so you need to be able to justify your choice. This project will also introduce you to the world of AD research and some of the gaps in knowledge in the field.
Sleep improvements in a new model of Alzheimer's disease
My research is focused on targeting the endocannabinoid system to improve sleep phenotypes in a model of AD. I have created a new genetically altered mouse that we hope will show improved sleep phenotypes. We use a sleep system in our lab to measure sleep and this data is available for analysis. After I have monitored sleep in these animals we will work together to analyze the sleep data and generate sleep traces, total hourly sleep amounts and assess quality of sleep in these new mice. This experiment will introduce you to data analysis, making figures and presenting data. You will also gain insights into sleep behavior in mice.