School of Medicine
Showing 1,101-1,110 of 12,875 Results
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MacKenzie Bolen
Postdoctoral Scholar, Neurology and Neurological Sciences
BioDr. MacKenzie “Mack” Bolen’s defining research passion is to leverage accessible and modifiable lifestyle factors to mitigate neurodegenerative risk. During her undergraduate education at Austin College in Texas, she began pursuing her interest in neurodegeneration by conducting research focused on the neuroprotective benefits of the ketogenic diet. This work evolved into an honors thesis investigating markers of inflammation in saliva from contact sport athletes and culminated in a TEDx talk on sports-related brain injuries. These experiences cemented her desire to understand the minutiae of the brain and catalyzed her decision to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Florida (UF). During Mack’s training under Dr. MG. Tansey at UF, her dissertation work generated global collaborations centered on a multiomic approach that leverages machine learning to identify peripheral biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets to slow the onset or progression of Parkinson’s disease. A hallmark of Mack’s career has been participating in collaborative team science and mentorship of the next generation of scientists, where she has consistently mentored advanced and budding scientists within the Gainesville community and collaborated on several manuscripts from labs across the nation. In addition to her scholarly work, she regularly volunteered at the UF Neuromedicine Intensive Care Unit (Neuro ICU) while pursuing her Ph.D. to better understand the clinical perspective of neurodegeneration.
By blending her Ph.D. training and experiences in the Neuro ICU, Mack hopes to actively improve the treatment of individuals living with neurodegeneration and continue to push the frontier of medicine as a postdoctoral scholar in Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford. Now under the mentorship of Dr. K. Poston, Mack will continue to access essential training at the intersection of immunology and Parkinson’s disease, via the investigation of the gut-brain axis. As a former collegiate soccer player, Mack loves to pretend to relive her glory days during rec-league on the weekends and can also be found struggling through a Yin yoga class. -
Sam Bollinger
Ph.D. Student in Cancer Biology, admitted Autumn 2021
BioOriginally from State College, Pennsylvania, Sam graduated with honors from Penn State University with a B.S. in Chemistry and a minor in Biology. He subsequently spent three years working at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research for Dr. Ellen Heber-Katz. Sam hopes to expand the paradigm of cancer research and help to develop novel therapies for cancer and other ailments. He is also interested in optimization of physical and mental performance.
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Paul Bollyky
Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and of Microbiology and Immunology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsBacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are abundant in the human body. However, their contributions to human health and disease are largely unknown. The Bollyky Lab
studies interactions between phages and both their human and bacterial hosts with the goal of developing innovative strategies to improve human health. -
Anna Maria Bombardieri, MD, PhD, MSc
Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research program focuses on the autonomic nervous system as a modifiable determinant of physiological resilience and recovery across acute and chronic disease states. I investigate sympathetic modulation as a therapeutic strategy, examining how regional anesthetic and neuromodulation techniques, including cervical sympathetic and stellate ganglion blocks, influence cerebral perfusion, cardiovascular regulation, neuroimmune interactions, and functional outcomes.
Through the integration of clinical trials, translational human physiology, and advanced physiologic monitoring, my work seeks to elucidate mechanisms of autonomic dysfunction and to develop evidence-based neuromodulation approaches for conditions such as aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (Long COVID). The long-term objective of this research is to advance interdisciplinary models of care and to translate autonomic science into therapeutic strategies that improve long-term patient outcomes.
