Lee lab graduate student Juan Cerda III awarded F31

Graduate student Juan Creda III, a trainee in Hyun Kyoung Lee's lab, has been awarded an NIH F31 grant to support his research training.  

Juan is studying vascular dementia (VaD) a brutal, progressive neurological disease that affects the brain vasculature, leading to cognitive impairment. VaD is the second most common subtype of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease and has been associated with disruptions in the neurovascular unit, a dynamic environment of interacting brain cells. My research aims to understand the function of an astrocytic ion-transporter, Slc4a4, in regulating neurovascular unit integrity and how it contributes to vascular dementia-associated cognitive deficits and disease progression.