معرفی
Jessica Andrea Filosa is a Professor in the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University. She has been with the institution since 2008, progressing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor (2014-2019) to her current position as full Professor since 2019. Her research focuses on understanding the signaling mechanisms governing bi-directional communication among various cell types within the brain, particularly between neurons and their surrounding glial and vascular cells.
Her educational background includes:
- Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Wright State University (2002)
- M.S. in Biology from Emporia State University (1997)
Dr. Filosa's research interests center on neurovascular coupling, the process by which neuronal activity is translated into changes in cerebral blood flow. She investigates how astrocytes serve as intercellular bridges between neuronal activity and vascular dynamics, with particular focus on the signals released during hyperemic responses, how astrocytes decode different degrees of neuronal activity, and the ion channels and receptors involved. Her work spans multiple specialized brain regions including the somatosensory cortex, supraoptic nucleus, and hypothalamus. Her laboratory employs advanced techniques such as electrophysiological recordings, intracellular Ca2+ signaling measurements, high-speed confocal Ca2+ imaging, and brain slice preparations to characterize neuron-glial-vascular communication in health and disease states.
Analysis of Dr. Filosa's recent publications reveals a strong focus on how neurovascular coupling is disrupted in conditions such as hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and stroke. Her work increasingly examines blood pressure variability as a key factor in cerebrovascular and cognitive dysfunction, with several recent papers investigating molecular targets like ADAM17 and soluble epoxide hydrolase as potential therapeutic interventions for vascular cognitive impairment.
Her notable scientific achievements include:
- Hamilton Scholar in Physiology (Department of Physiology, Augusta University, 2017)
- Outstanding Young Research Scientist (Georgia Health Sciences University, 2012)
- Participant in NIH Study (2023)
Dr. Filosa has successfully mentored graduate students including Jennifer Iddings (PhD student, 2010-2015) and currently oversees lab personnel including Postdoctoral Fellow Perenkita Mendiola and Research Assistant Adriana Langer Gramer. Her research is supported by multiple NIH grants, including an NHLBI-funded project on inverse neurovascular coupling in the hypothalamus (2021-2025) and an NINDS-funded project on blood pressure variability and neurovascular function (2023-2025).
Her laboratory focuses on three major research areas: characterizing intrinsic properties of parenchymal arterioles in the brain, studying neuron-glial-vascular communication in specialized brain regions, and determining how disruptions in these communications contribute to cerebrovascular disorders like hypertension and stroke.
