BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Jo Anne Stratton PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery
McGill University
Montreal (QC), Canada

Dr Stratton is inspired by the context-dependent interactions of immune cells within the central nervous system (CNS), which can underlie pathologies, such as those in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).  Since starting her lab at the Neuro (Fall 2019), Dr Stratton’s broad goal has been to understand cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)-associated drivers of neurodegeneration with an emphasis on understanding the involvement of “non-neuronal CNS cells” that line CSF exposed brain regions (i.e. pia mater on the surface of the CNS parenchyma and ependymal cells on the surface of the ventricular system). These cells form partial barriers between the nervous tissue and CSF, and due to their unique localization make them particularly prone to influence from the periphery (ie. by immune cells, microbiota influence, etc). They are also key regulators of brain waste clearance (they are part of the glymphatic system) – an understudied component of the brain that Dr Stratton works on. Dr Stratton’s research combines big data analysis with multi-scale experimental neuroscience (molecular, cellular, physiological, and behavioral techniques) in both rodent and human systems.