Christine Byrd-Jacobs

Christine Byrd-Jacobs is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Dean of the Graduate College at Western Michigan University. Her research focuses on the plasticity of the adult central nervous system, using the zebrafish olfactory system as a model to study regeneration and recovery from injury. She leads a lab investigating immune response effects on neuroplasticity, neuronal subtype vulnerability, and sensory input alterations.

Her work combines cellular neurobiology, immunology, and zebrafish model systems to address clinical applications in neuroregeneration. Recent studies explore microglial roles in neural repair and sex-based differences in dendritic morphology post-injury. She has advised numerous graduate and undergraduate students, fostering their development as researchers.

• Awards: Top Downloaded Paper (2020, IJMS), Cover Feature (2019, IJMS).
• Lab Members: PhD students Bonnie Corpus and John Rozofsky; undergraduates Abdulaziz Shebrain, Eric Oliver, Gabe Vanderwoude, and Nivetha Pasupathy.

Publications highlight neuroplasticity mechanisms, immune modulation effects, and zebrafish models for studying brain injury recovery. Her dual role as Dean emphasizes graduate education leadership while maintaining active research and mentoring.