Yeo Lab

Degrees

B.A. Neuroscience, minor in public health, Boston University, 2016
M.S. Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, 2020

Summary

Alicia is a Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at UCSD. She received her B.A. in Neuroscience with a minor in public health from Boston University. As an undergraduate, she joined the lab of Dr. Tsuneya Ikezu, studying the role of microglia in various neurological disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Alzheimer’s disease, and progressive supranuclear palsy. After graduation, she stayed on as a research technician to continue her work investigating how pre-natal environmental insults, such as maternal immune activation, disrupt normal glial development in offspring, leading to ASD.

Alicia then moved to San Diego, where she completed her master’s degree in Dr. Wendy Campana’s lab, studying the role of the Schwann cell NMDA receptor in nerve development and pain processing. She then joined Dr. Gene Yeo’s lab to complete her thesis work, where she’s investigating neuronal and glial phenotypes in ASD using human stem cell models, including cortical organoids and iPSC-derived astrocytes.

In addition to her research, Alicia serves as a Polygence mentor, where she helps high school students explore and showcase a passion through a literature review, research publication, conference presentation, blog, or creative piece.

Outside of the lab, Alicia enjoys going to the beach, snowboarding, and trying out new restaurants around San Diego.

Publications

Brifault C, Romero H, Van Enoo A, Pizzo D, Azmoon P, Kwon H, Nasamran C, Gonias SL, Campana WM (2020) Deletion of the Gene Encoding the NMDA Receptor GluN1 Subunit in Schwann Cells Causes Ultrastructural Changes in Remak Bundles and Hypersensitivity in Pain Processing. J Neurosci 40:9121–9136.

Ikezu, S.§, Yeh, H.§, Delpech, J.-C.§, Woodbury, M.E.§, Van Enoo, A., Ruan, Z., Sivakumaran, S., You, Y., Holland, C., Guillamon-Vivancos, et al. (2020). Inhibition of colony stimulating factor 1 receptor corrects maternal inflammation induced microglial and synaptic dysfunction and behavioral abnormalities. Mol Psychiatry 1–24. §these authors contributed equally

Ruan Z, Delpech J-C, Venkatesan Kalavai S, Van Enoo A, Hu J, Ikezu S, Ikezu T (2020) P2RX7 inhibitor suppresses exosome secretion and disease phenotype in P301S tau transgenic mice. Mol Neurodegener 15:47.

You Y, Botros MB, Van Enoo A, Bockmiller A, Herron S, Delpech JC, Ikezu T (2019) Cre-inducible Adeno Associated Virus-mediated Expression of P301L Mutant Tau Causes Motor Deficits and Neuronal Degeneration in the Substantia Nigra. Neuroscience 422:65–74.

Clayton KA, Van Enoo A, Ikezu T (2017) Alzheimer’s Disease: The Role of Microglia in Brain Homeostasis and Proteopathy. Front Neurosci 11