Kate Karelina Weil

Kate Karelina Weil serves as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at West Virginia University School of Medicine and the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, focusing on traumatic brain injury mechanisms and recovery interventions.

Education:

• PhD from Ohio State University
• MA from University of Richmond

Research Focus: Dr. Weil investigates environmental and behavioral factors influencing neuroprotection following developmental traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Her work challenges conventional rest-based TBI treatment by demonstrating exercise-induced neuroprotection, examining long-term consequences like metabolic dysregulation and substance abuse vulnerability. She utilizes rodent models to identify optimal exercise protocols for cognitive recovery and neural repair, with emphasis on hippocampal neurogenesis and neuroinflammatory pathways.

Publication Trends: Her 2014-2023 publications reveal consistent focus on developmental TBI models, demonstrating how early injuries increase susceptibility to cerebral ischemia, alcohol abuse, and metabolic disorders. Key themes include exercise-mediated neuroprotection, neuroinflammatory mechanisms in nucleus accumbens, and insulin resistance following injury, with methodological emphasis on treadmill exercise paradigms and molecular analysis of neurogenesis.

Laboratory Context: Dr. Weil collaborates with Dr. Zachary Weil in a neuroscience research laboratory utilizing mouse models to study TBI pathophysiology, with experimental approaches spanning behavioral testing, metabolic analysis, and cellular neuroscience techniques to identify therapeutic interventions.