معرفی
Dr. Leah Chase-Wallar serves as Professor of Biology & Chemistry at Hope College since 2000, maintaining active research in the A. Paul Schaap Science Center with dual departmental affiliations in Chemistry and Biology. Her work bridges neurochemistry and molecular biology through investigations of oxidative stress mechanisms in neurodegenerative disorders.
She earned her B.S. from the University of Michigan – Flint (1993) followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (1999), establishing her foundation in biochemical neuroscience. Her research program centers on system xc- regulation, specifically examining how hydrogen peroxide modulates cystine/glutamate exchange to protect dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease models. This involves advanced techniques including mammalian cell culture, immunocytochemical analysis, western blotting, and enzymatic assays for glutathione/peroxide measurement.
Her publication trajectory (1994-2007) reveals evolving specialization: early comparative physiology work on reindeer nutrition transitioned into focused neuroscience research on glutamate transport systems, metabotropic receptor pharmacology, and neurotoxin mechanisms. The most recent publications demonstrate increasing emphasis on oxidative stress pathways relevant to Parkinson's disease.
Dr. Chase-Wallar has secured substantial research funding including multiple Campbell Foundation grants (2001-2007), a Towsley Research Scholar award (2003-2006), and NSF support (2002-2003) for neuroscience laboratory development. Her Chase-Wallar Research Group actively involves undergraduate students in project design and execution within Hope College's Chemistry Department framework, with facilities in the A. Paul Schaap Science Center enabling cellular and molecular investigations of dopaminergic systems.
