Recent studies in humans have found a post-mortem co-localization of microvascular hemorrhages and amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, the pathogenic marker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), suggesting a link between microvascular pathology and AD progression. Clinical data also suggests that small strokes caused by microvessel occlusion are a risk factor for AD. Our current project involves quantifying the evolution of the Aβ-plaque topology over time in 3D. Our aim is to determine if microvascular lesions, specifically microstrokes caused by the occlusion of small brain blood vessels (by leukocyte adhesion), initiate the aggregation of Aβ and trigger the formation of plaques. Also we are interesting in determining the correlation between the shape and the distribution of the Aβ-plaques vs the occlusion of small brain blood vessel (strokes). I received my bachelors’ degree in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 2011. Currently, I am working towards a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell. I am a NSF Graduate Research Fellow, was a fellow with the NSF GK-12 CLIMB program in 2012-2013 and am grateful for funding through the Sloan Foundation.
