Katy Brewer, Phd Email & Phone Number

Barcelona, Ct, Es

Berkeley, California, United States

• Awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Epilepsy Society (2022).• Independently piloted a new project investigating the role of astrocytes in the neurodevelopmental disorder tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). • Generated transgenic mice and set up new sorting-based primary culture models. • Used Western blot, immunostaining, confocal microscopy, quantitative imaging and transcriptomics to define the effects of Tsc1/2 loss on astrocytic function in TSC models. • Established an automated calcium imaging system for primary astrocytes and neurons in vitro. • Hired, managed, and/or mentored 5 undergraduate students and mentored 3 graduate rotation students. • Coordinated laboratory safety and hazardous waste management for a medium size lab (10-15 people).

Completed a manuscript describing work performed during my PhD that was published in iScience in 2021.

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

• Awarded a Marie Curie COFUND Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019-2021).• Defined cell-specific roles of glycogen in the healthy brain and in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using transgenic mice, histology, in situ hybridization, qPCR and primary cell culture.• Published a first-author research article in Journal of Neurochemistry and co-authored two other articles.

Lexington, Kentucky Area

• Awarded a NIH/NINDS F31 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (2016-2019).• Awarded Robert A. Lester Outstanding Biochemistry Graduate Award (2019).• Led a project in collaboration with Valerion Therapeutics demonstrating that an antibody-enzyme fusion degrades Lafora bodies (LBs), the toxic carbohydrate inclusions bodies of Lafora disease (LD), in a preclinical mouse model. • Independently designed a novel protocol for isolating LBs from animal tissue and assays for measuring LB degradation. • Defined LB structure using electron microscopy and biophysical methods. • Generated, purified and characterized >50 recombinant enzyme mutants using a pipeline of biochemical assays to facilitates personalized diagnoses of LD patients.• Published numerous articles including 3 first-author primary research papers in high-impact journals.

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

• Developed tools to study the structure and function of glucan phosphatases from various organisms using cloning/molecular biology, recombinant proteins, biochemical assays and X-ray crystallography screens. • Completed data for a manuscript that was published in BMC Biochemistry in 2014. • Assisted in training other undergraduate students.

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

• Regularly changed Drosophila culture vials, and prepared gels, chemicals, solutions, and other laboratory media at the Markey Cancer Center. • Cleaned, organized and maintained work area, glassware and laboratory equipment.

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Molecular & Cell Biology (Neurobiology)

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology

Bachelor'S Degree, Biology, Minor In Mathematics