Alison Weiss, Ph.D.

  • Assistant Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center

Biography

Alison R Weiss, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Neuroscience at the Oregon National Primate Research Center.

Dr. Weiss’ research program broadly seeks to map the neural circuitry involved in learning and memory impairments during aging and with neurodegenerative disease. Cognitive assessment using positive reinforcement training represents a core component of her research program. To map alterations in brain circuitry corresponding with cognitive deficits, she employs a combination of structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), resting-state fMRI, positron emission tomography (PET), and biofluid proteomics. Dr. Weiss’ current studies are focused particularly on neuroinflammation and glymphatic function during the transition from middle-age to senescence.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.A., 2005, Reed College
    • M.A., 2014, Emory University
    • Ph.D., 2017, Emory University

Memberships and associations:

  • Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
  • Flux: The International Society for Integrative Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Cure Huntington's Disease Initiative (CHDI) Foundation
  • Oregon Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (OADRC)

Areas of interest

  • Cognitive impairment, Aging/neurodegeneration, Neuroinflammation, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Honors and awards

  • 2022 Buck Institute Early Career Investigator Training Award
  • 2022 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Research Education Component (ADRC-REC) Scholar
  • 2022 NIH K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award
  • 2021 Nominee, Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Award
  • 2018 Trainee Professional Development Award (TPDA) from the Society for Neuroscience
  • 2018 NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Training Fellowship
  • 2016 Emory Professional Development Support (PDS) Award
  • 2016 On Recent Discoveries of Emory Researchers (O.R.D.E.R.) Teaching Fellowship
  • 2014 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRF)
  • 2013 NIH T32 Pre-doctoral Training Fellowship
  • 2005 Reed College Commendation for Excellence

Publications

Selected publications

  • Weiss AR, Bertoglio D, Liguore WA, Brandon K, Templon J, Link J, McBride JL. Reduced D2 /D3 Receptor Binding and Glucose Metabolism in a Macaque Model of Huntington's Disease. Mov Disord. 2023 Jan;38(1):143-147. doi: 10.1002/mds.29271. Epub 2022 Dec 21. PMID: 36544385; PMCID: PMC9948637.
  • Weiss AR, Liguore WA, Brandon K, Wang X, Liu Z, Domire JS, Button D, Srinivasan S, Kroenke CD, McBride JL. A novel rhesus macaque model of Huntington's disease recapitulates key neuropathological changes along with motor and cognitive decline. Elife. 2022 Oct 7;11:e77568. doi: 10.7554/eLife.77568. PMID: 36205397; PMCID: PMC9545527.
  • PRIMatE Data and Resource Exchange (PRIME-DRE) Global Collaboration Workshop and Consortium. Electronic address: michael.milham@childmind.org; PRIMatE Data and Resource Exchange (PRIME-DRE) Global Collaboration Workshop and Consortium. Toward next-generation primate neuroscience: A collaboration-based strategic plan for integrative neuroimaging. Neuron. 2022 Jan 5;110(1):16-20. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.015. Epub 2021 Nov 2. PMID: 34731649.
  • Weiss AR, Liu Z, Wang X, Liguore WA, Kroenke CD, McBride JL. The macaque brain ONPRC18 template with combined gray and white matter labelmap for multimodal neuroimaging studies of Nonhuman Primates. Neuroimage. 2021 Jan 15;225:117517. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117517. Epub 2020 Nov 1. PMID: 33137475; PMCID: PMC7833476.
  • Weiss AR, Liguore WA, Domire JS, Button D, McBride JL. Intra-striatal AAV2.retro administration leads to extensive retrograde transport in the rhesus macaque brain: implications for disease modeling and therapeutic development. Sci Rep. 2020 Apr 24;10(1):6970. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-63559-7. PMID: 32332773; PMCID: PMC7181773.
  • Weiss AR, White J, Richardson R, Bachevalier J. Impaired Cognitive Flexibility After Neonatal Perirhinal Lesions in Rhesus Macaques. Front Syst Neurosci. 2019 Jan 30;13:6. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2019.00006. PMID: 30760985; PMCID: PMC6363703.
  • Weiss AR, Guo W, Richardson R, Bachevalier J. Intact perceptual ability, but impaired familiarity judgment, after neonatal perirhinal lesions in rhesus macaques. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2017 Dec;28:54-64. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.10.006. Epub 2017 Oct 31. PMID: 29175539; PMCID: PMC5737963.
  • Kohama SG, Renner L, Landauer N, Weiss AR, Urbanski HF, Park B, Voytko ML, Neuringer M. Effect of Ovarian Hormone Therapy on Cognition in the Aged Female Rhesus Macaque. J Neurosci. 2016 Oct 5;36(40):10416-10424. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0909-16.2016. PMID: 27707975; PMCID: PMC5050333.
  • Weiss AR, Bachevalier J. Object and spatial memory after neonatal perirhinal lesions in monkeys. Behav Brain Res. 2016 Feb 1;298(Pt B):210-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.11.010. Epub 2015 Nov 23. PMID: 26593109; PMCID: PMC4688056.
  • Weiss AR, Nadji R, Bachevalier J. Neonatal Perirhinal Lesions in Rhesus Macaques Alter Performance on Working Memory Tasks with High Proactive Interference. Front Syst Neurosci. 2016 Jan 5;9:179. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00179. PMID: 26778978; PMCID: PMC4700260.