The OHSU School of Medicine Alumni Council selected a study by first author Meredith Hartley, Ph.D., to receive its 2019 School of Medicine Alumni Association Postdoctoral Paper of the Year Award.
The paper is entitled “Myelin repair stimulated by CNS-selective thyroid hormone action” and was published in JCI Insight.
Dr. Hartley is a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Tom Scanlan, Ph.D., professor of chemical physiology and biochemistry, OHSU School of Medicine, who is senior author in the paper.
“There are no drugs available today that will re-myelinate the de-myelinated axons and nerve fibers, and ours does that,” said Dr. Scanlan.
Dr. Hartley will present the paper Thursday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. in the Vollum Seminar Room M1441. A representative from the alumni council will present her with the award at that time.
“We’re taking advantage of the endogenous ability of thyroid hormone to repair myelin without the side effects,” she said.
Dr. Hartley completed her Ph.D. in biological chemistry from MIT in 2011. Next year, she’ll take a position as an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas.
Recipients of the Postdoctoral Paper of the Year Award receive a $750 prize.