The Neuroscience Meet Up is a casual, friendly monthly event facilitating interdisciplinary conversations between University of Missouri researchers at all levels. Join us for food, beverages and socializing. Please forward this invite to anyone interested: students, faculty or staff within your groups.

For questions about this event and to be added to the monthly calendar invite, please reach out to Smita Saxena at smitasaxena@health.missouri.edu.

Speaker Bio

Focus Area: Peripheral Neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Epigenetics - DNA Methylation

Dr. Castoro leads a translational neuroscience lab which focuses on understanding the genetic, as well as epigenetic determinants of peripheral nerve disease and how these can be reversed.  As part of their approach, they are developing quantitative ultrasound as a biomarker to measure axonal degeneration in humans and in murine models. In addition, they utilize murine and direct induced motor/sensory neuron models to elucidate DNA methylation regulated neuronal degeneration of the peripheral nervous system.

Precision Health Impact:

• Developing quantitative ultrasound as a biomarker for developing therapies in inherited peripheral nerve diseases. 
• Identify age and pathologic related aberrant hyper- or hypo-methylation for the development of novel therapeutics to prevent peripheral neuronal degeneration.