Nora Gray, Ph.D.

  • Associate Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine

Biography

After completing her PhD at UC Berkeley, Dr. Gray came to OHSU as a postdoctoral fellow as part of the Oregon Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Neurological Disorders (ORCCAMIND) training program. Prior to her doctorate she worked at the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at NIH. She joined the faculty in the Neurology Department in 2017. Dr. Gray is a Biomarker and Outreach core leader at OHSU's Oregon Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Outside of lab she enjoys gardening and ultimate frisbee.

Research

Dr. Gray’s research uses animal and cell culture models to investigate how modulating antioxidant response and mitochondrial function affect neuronal health and cognitive function in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Her current work is focused on how these pathways can be altered with botanical interventions.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • Ph.D., 2012, University of California, Berkeley

Areas of interest

  • Aging
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Cognitive function
  • Complementary and alternative medicine

Honors and awards

  • 2012 E.L Robert Stockstad Award, Department of Nutritional Science and Toxicology, UC Berkeley
  • 2011 Outstanding graduate student instructor, Department of Nutritional Science and Toxicology, UC Berkeley

Publications

Selected publications

  • Gray NE, Zweig JA, Caruso M, Zhu JY, Wright KM, Quinn JF, Soumyanath A. (2018) Centella asiatica attenuates hippocampal mitochondrial dysfunction and improves memory and executive function in β-amyloid overexpressing mice. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 93:1-9.
  • Gray NE, Zweig JA, Caruso M, Martin MD, Zhu JY, Quinn JF, Soumyanath A. (2018) Centella asiatica increases hippocampal synaptic density and improves memory and executive function in aged mice. Brain and Behavior. 8(7): e01024
  • Gray NE, Alcazar A, Lak P, Wright K, Quinn, JF, Stevens, JF, Soumyanath A, Maier CS. (2018) Centella asiatica - Phytochemistry and mechanisms of neuroprotection and cognitive enhancement. Phytochemical Reviews. 17 (1) 161-194.
  • Gray NE, Zweig JA, Matthews D, Quinn JF, Soumyanath A. (2017) Centella asiatica attenuates Aβ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in isolated hippocampal neurons. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 7023091.
  • Gray NE, Zweig JA, Murchison C, Caruso M, Matthews DG, Kawamoto C, Harris CJ, Quinn JF, Soumyanath A. (2017) Centella asiatica attenuates Aβ – induced neurodegenerative spine loss and dendritic simplification. Neuroscience Letters, 646: 24-29.
  • Gray NE, Zweig JA, Kawamoto C, Quinn JF, Copenhaver PF. (2016) STX, a novel membrane estrogen receptor ligand, protects against Aβ toxicity. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 51 (2): 391-403.
  • Gray NE, Harris CJ, Quinn JF, Soumyanath A. (2016) Centella asiatica modulates antioxidant and mitochondrial pathways and improves cognitive function in mice.  Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 180: 71-86.
  • Gray NE, Quinn JF. (2015)  Alterations in mitochondrial number and function in Alzheimer’s disease fibroblasts. Metabolic Brain Disease, 30(5):1275-8.
  • Gray NE, Sampath H, Zweig JA, Quinn, JF, Soumyanath A. (2015) Centella asiatica attenuates Aβ-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 45(3):933-46.
  • Gray NE, Morré J, Kelley J, Maier CS, Stevens JF, Quinn JF, Soumyanath A. (2014) Caffeoylquinic Acids in Centella asiatica Protect against Amyloid-β Toxicity. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 40: 359–373.

Publications

  • Multi-Omics Analysis in Mouse Primary Cortical Neurons Reveals Complex Positive and Negative Biological Interactions Between Constituent Compounds of Centella asiatica

    Pharmaceuticals
    1. Steven R. Chamberlin
    2. Jonathan A. Zweig
    3. Cody J. Neff
    4. Luke Marney
    5. Jaewoo Choi
    6. Liping Yang
    7. Claudia S. Maier
    8. Amala Soumyanath
    9. Shannon McWeeney
    10. Nora E. Gray

  • Oral Asiatic Acid Improves Cognitive Function and Modulates Antioxidant and Mitochondrial Pathways in Female 5xFAD Mice

    Nutrients
    1. Samantha Varada
    2. Stephen R. Chamberlin
    3. Lillie Bui
    4. Mikah S. Brandes
    5. Noah Gladen-Kolarsky
    6. Christopher J. Harris
    7. Wyatt Hack
    8. Cody J. Neff
    9. Barbara H. Brumbach
    10. Amala Soumyanath
    11. Joseph F. Quinn
    12. Nora E. Gray

  • Peripheral Blood DNA Methylation Changes in Response to Centella asiatica Treatment in Aged Mice

    Biology
    1. Olivia Monestime
    2. Brett A. Davis
    3. Cora Layman
    4. Kandace J. Wheeler
    5. Wyatt Hack
    6. Jonathan A. Zweig
    7. Amala Soumyanath
    8. Lucia Carbone
    9. Nora E. Gray

  • The CD74 inhibitor DRhQ improves short-term memory and mitochondrial function in 5xFAD mouse model of Aβ accumulation

    Metabolic brain disease
    1. Noah Gladen-Kolarsky
    2. Cody J. Neff
    3. Wyatt Hack
    4. Mikah S. Brandes
    5. Jack Wiedrick
    6. Roberto Meza-Romero
    7. Denesa R. Lockwood
    8. Joseph F. Quinn
    9. Halina Offner
    10. Arthur A. Vandenbark
    11. Nora E. Gray

  • A Combined Computational and Experimental Approach to Studying Tropomyosin Kinase Receptor B Binders for Potential Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases

    Molecules
    1. Duc D. Nguyen
    2. Shomit Mansur
    3. Lukasz Ciesla
    4. Nora E. Gray
    5. Shan Zhao
    6. Yuping Bao

  • Amelioration of age-related cognitive decline and anxiety in mice by Centella asiatica extract varies by sex, dose and mode of administration

    Frontiers in Aging
    1. Nora E. Gray
    2. Wyatt Hack
    3. Mikah S. Brandes
    4. Jonathan A. Zweig
    5. Liping Yang
    6. Luke Marney
    7. Jaewoo Choi
    8. Armando Alcazar Magana
    9. Natasha Cerruti
    10. Janis McFerrin
    11. Seiji Koike
    12. Thuan Nguyen
    13. Jacob Raber
    14. Joseph F. Quinn
    15. Claudia S. Maier
    16. Amala Soumyanath

  • Centella asiatica and its caffeoylquinic acid and triterpene constituents increase dendritic arborization of mouse primary hippocampal neurons and improve age-related locomotion deficits in Drosophila

    Frontiers in Aging
    1. Karon Rowe
    2. Nora E. Gray
    3. Jonathan A. Zweig
    4. Alexander Law
    5. Natascha Techen
    6. Claudia S. Maier
    7. Amala Soumyanath
    8. Doris Kretzschmar

  • Centella asiatica Promotes Antioxidant Gene Expression and Mitochondrial Oxidative Respiration in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

    Pharmaceuticals
    1. Payel Kundu
    2. Kanon Yasuhara
    3. Mikah S. Brandes
    4. Jonathan A. Zweig
    5. Cody J. Neff
    6. Sarah Holden
    7. Kat Kessler
    8. Steven Matsumoto
    9. Halina Offner
    10. Carin S. Waslo
    11. Arthur Vandenbark
    12. Amala Soumyanath
    13. Larry S. Sherman
    14. Jacob Raber
    15. Nora E. Gray
    16. Rebecca I. Spain

  • Gardenin A treatment attenuates inflammatory markers, synuclein pathology and deficits in tyrosine hydroxylase expression and improves cognitive and motor function in A53T-α-syn mice

    Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy
    1. Wyatt Hack
    2. Noah Gladen-Kolarsky
    3. Swarnali Chatterjee
    4. Qiaoli Liang
    5. Urmila Maitra
    6. Lukasz Ciesla
    7. Nora E. Gray

  • Integrating High-Resolution Mass Spectral Data, Bioassays and Computational Models to Annotate Bioactives in Botanical Extracts

    Molecules
    1. Armando Alcázar Magaña
    2. Ashish Vaswani
    3. Kevin S. Brown
    4. Yuan Jiang
    5. Md Nure Alam
    6. Maya Caruso
    7. Parnian Lak
    8. Paul Cheong
    9. Nora E. Gray
    10. Joseph F. Quinn
    11. Amala Soumyanath
    12. Jan F. Stevens
    13. Claudia S. Maier

  • Mode of administration influences plasma levels of active Centella asiatica compounds in 5xFAD mice while markers of neuroinflammation remain unaltered

    Frontiers in Neuroscience
    1. Alex B. Speers
    2. Kirsten M. Wright
    3. Mikah S. Brandes
    4. Nareg Kedjejian
    5. Donald G. Matthews
    6. Maya Caruso
    7. Christopher J. Harris
    8. Seiji Koike
    9. Thuan Nguyen
    10. Joseph F. Quinn
    11. Amala Soumyanath
    12. Nora E. Gray

  • Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) Improves Spatial Memory, Anxiety and Depressive-like Behavior in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

    Antioxidants
    1. Noah Gladen-Kolarsky
    2. Olivia Monestime
    3. Melissa Bollen
    4. Jaewoo Choi
    5. Liping Yang
    6. Armando Alcazar Magaña
    7. Claudia S. Maier
    8. Amala Soumyanath
    9. Nora E. Gray

  • Quantification of caffeoylquinic acids and triterpenes as targeted bioactive compounds of Centella Asiatica in extracts and formulations by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

    Journal of Chromatography Open
    1. Liping Yang
    2. Luke Marney
    3. Armando Alcazar Magana
    4. Jaewoo Choi
    5. Kirsten Wright
    6. Janis Mcferrin
    7. Nora E. Gray
    8. Amala Soumyanath
    9. Jan F. Stevens
    10. Claudia S. Maier

  • Nrf2 activation ameliorates oxidative stress and improves mitochondrial function and synaptic plasticity, and in a53t α-synuclein hippocampal neurons

    Antioxidants
    1. Mikah S. Brandes
    2. Jonathan A. Zweig
    3. Anita Tang
    4. Nora E. Gray

  • Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Key Components of a Standardized Centella asiatica Product in Cognitively Impaired Older Adults

    Antioxidants
    1. Kirsten M. Wright
    2. Melissa Bollen
    3. Jason David
    4. Alex B. Speers
    5. Mikah S. Brandes
    6. Nora E. Gray
    7. Armando Alcázar Magaña
    8. Christine McClure
    9. Jan F. Stevens
    10. Claudia S. Maier
    11. Joseph F. Quinn
    12. Amala Soumyanath

  • The Impact of the hAPP695SWTransgene and Associated Amyloid-β Accumulation on Murine Hippocampal Biochemical Pathways

    Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
    1. Mona Khorani
    2. Gerd Bobe
    3. Donald G. Matthews
    4. Armando Alcazar Magana
    5. Maya Caruso
    6. Nora E. Gray
    7. Joseph F. Quinn
    8. Jan F. Stevens
    9. Amala Soumyanath
    10. Claudia S. Maier

  • The novel estrogen modulator STX attenuates Amyloid-β neurotoxicity in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

    Neurobiology of Disease
    1. Joseph F. Quinn
    2. Martin J. Kelly
    3. Christopher J. Harris
    4. Wyatt Hack
    5. Nora E. Gray
    6. Veronika Kulik
    7. Zoe Bostick
    8. Barbara H. Brumbach
    9. Philip F. Copenhaver

  • Withania somnifera and Centella asiatica Extracts Ameliorate Behavioral Deficits in an In Vivo Drosophila melanogaster Model of Oxidative Stress

    Antioxidants
    1. Kadine Cabey
    2. Dani M. Long
    3. Alexander Law
    4. Nora E. Gray
    5. Christine McClure
    6. Maya Caruso
    7. Parnian Lak
    8. Kirsten M. Wright
    9. Jan F. Stevens
    10. Claudia S. Maier
    11. Amala Soumyanath
    12. Doris Kretzschmar

  • Centella asiatica Alters Metabolic Pathways Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of ß-Amyloid Accumulation

    Frontiers in Pharmacology
    1. Alex B. Speers
    2. Manuel García-Jaramillo
    3. Alicia Feryn
    4. Donald G. Matthews
    5. Talia Lichtenberg
    6. Maya Caruso
    7. Kirsten M. Wright
    8. Joseph F. Quinn
    9. Jan F. Stevens
    10. Claudia S. Maier
    11. Amala Soumyanath
    12. Nora E. Gray

  • Identification of TrkB Binders from Complex Matrices Using a Magnetic Drug Screening Nanoplatform

    ACS Applied Bio Materials
    1. Zekiye Ceren Arituluk
    2. Jesse Horne
    3. Bishnu Adhikari
    4. Jeffrey Steltzner
    5. Shomit Mansur
    6. Parmanand Ahirwar
    7. Sadanandan E. Velu
    8. Nora E. Gray
    9. Lukasz M. Ciesla
    10. Yuping Bao

  • Loss of NRF2 accelerates cognitive decline, exacerbates mitochondrial dysfunction, and is required for the cognitive enhancing effects of Centella asiatica during aging

    Neurobiology of Aging
    1. Jonathan A. Zweig
    2. Mikah S. Brandes
    3. Barbara H. Brumbach
    4. Maya Caruso
    5. Kirsten M. Wright
    6. Joseph F. Quinn
    7. Amala Soumyanath
    8. Nora E. Gray

  • Peripheral blood NRF2 expression as a biomarker in human health and disease

    Antioxidants
    1. Lee E. Neilson
    2. Joseph F. Quinn
    3. Nora E. Gray

  • Prolonged Treatment with Centella asiatica Improves Memory, Reduces Amyloid-β Pathology, and Activates NRF2-Regulated Antioxidant Response Pathway in 5xFAD Mice

    Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
    1. Jonathan A. Zweig
    2. Mikah S. Brandes
    3. Barbara H. Brumbach
    4. Maya Caruso
    5. Kirsten M. Wright
    6. Joseph F. Quinn
    7. Amala Soumyanath
    8. Nora E. Gray

  • Age-Associated DNA Methylation Patterns Are Shared Between the Hippocampus and Peripheral Blood Cells

    Frontiers in Genetics
    1. Christopher J. Harris
    2. Brett A. Davis
    3. Jonathan A. Zweig
    4. Kimberly A. Nevonen
    5. Joseph F. Quinn
    6. Lucia Carbone
    7. Nora E. Gray

  • Caffeoylquinic acids in centella asiatica reverse cognitive deficits in male 5XFAD Alzheimer’s disease model mice

    Nutrients
    1. Donald G. Matthews
    2. Maya Caruso
    3. Armando Alcazar Magana
    4. Kirsten M. Wright
    5. Claudia S. Maier
    6. Jan F. Stevens
    7. Nora E. Gray
    8. Joseph F. Quinn
    9. Amala Soumyanath

  • Copper Modulation and Memory Impairment due to Hippocampal Tau Pathology

    Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
    1. Christopher J. Harris
    2. Nora E. Gray
    3. Maya Caruso
    4. Marguex Hunter
    5. Martina Ralle
    6. Joseph F. Quinn