Contact Information Phone: (773) 995-2491 Email: aabraha@csu.edu Office: SCI - Room 309

Education B.S., Chicago State University Ph.D., Loyola University of Chicago Postdoctoral fellowship, Johns Hopkins and Northwestern University

Hobbies & Interests

Humanitarian work, swimming, yoga

Research Interests

As a teacher, I always believed in my students; the energy you project towards them is the energy that will carry them through. Always keep the high standards of teaching; but be flexible enough to lift the ones who are struggling. A wholistic approach of teaching should be more than just delivering the content of the subject matter. I did Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research for over 20 years and published several articles in reputable scientific journals. AD is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the central nervous system. The more NFTs are present in the AD patient’s brain the more demented the patient is. NFTs are composed of truncated and phosphorylated tau proteins. Native tau protein is important for the proper functioning of the microtubules in the brain. Therefore, in my lab we studied the tau protein by genetically engineering the longest isoform tau protein and treating it with different drugs.

Representative Presentations & Publications

Sherri F. Seyfried, Aida Abraha, Ivy Dunn, Monique Germain, Thomas Lyons, Mikal Rasheed, and Quintin L. Williams. "Mindfulness Practice for Human Service Providers in Underserved Communities: An Ethical and Socially Just Approach to Practice."  Encyclopedia of Social Justice and Diversity; 2015; pg 513-17

Brett Fugate, Denise Medrano, Joyce Ache Gana, Aida Abraha, and Suzanne M. Cunningham. Medicago sativa L.beta amylase core promoter has motifs in common with Arabidopsis. J Plant Biochem Physiol; 2(1), (2014).

Abraha, A and Kanis D.R. “Growing a Vibrant Research Program with Non-Traditional students: Strategic Use of Time and Energy” Broadening Participation in Undergraduate Research: Fostering Excellence and Enhancing the Impact, Edited by Wesemann, J: Boyd, M.K., Chapter 20, pp 307-317; 2009.

Nicolette S. Honson, Jordan R. Jenson, Aida Abraha, Garth F. Hall, and Jeff Kuret. Small-molecule mediated neuroprotection in an in situ model of tauopathy (2008). Neurotoxicity Res., 15; 48-59.

Representative Grants & Funding

• CTRE/CSU (PI) 2012, $10,000: “Effect of statin in tau polymerization in vitro and in CHO cells”;
• EARDA/NIH (PI) 2008, 2003, $17,000: “Calpain effect on tau polymerization in vitro and in Alzheimer’s disease”;
• MRI/ NSF (Co-PI) 2008, $350,000: “MRI: Acquisition of a Transmission Electron Microscope”;
• MBRS/ NIH (PI) 2004-2007, $850,000: “Effect of calpain on tau polymerization in vitro and Alzheimer’s disease.”

Memberships

• American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR)
• Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (AAISAART)

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