Rachel N. Arey

Rachel N. Arey, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine, affiliated with the Center for Precision Environmental Health. She completed her BA at Austin College, her PhD at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University. Her research focuses on identifying molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive aging, particularly age-related memory loss, using C. elegans genetics, genomics, and behavioral assays.

• Education:
  • BA, Austin College, Sherman, TX
  • PhD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
  • Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellowship, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

Her research interests include cognitive aging, synaptic function, and the molecular basis of complex behaviors. She employs interdisciplinary approaches to study how changes in synaptic transmission contribute to memory decline and seeks pathways to prevent cognitive deterioration.

Selected Funding:

• NIH Director's New Innovator Award: Investigating perfluorinated compounds' effects on cognitive aging
• Glenn Foundation for Medical Research: Neuropeptide signals to slow cognitive aging
• Whitehall Foundation: Molecular determinants of memory performance across the lifespan

Her work bridges basic science and translational research, with a focus on leveraging model organisms to uncover conserved mechanisms of memory and aging.