Sarah Ackerman

Sarah Ackerman is an Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine, holding dual appointments in the Department of Pathology & Immunology and the Department of Developmental Biology. She leads the Ackerman Lab, affiliated with multiple divisions including the Roy and Diana Vagelos Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS), and the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders. Her research focuses on glial cell populations in zebrafish and fruit fly models to decode their role in nervous system development and disease.

• Research Priorities: Critical period plasticity, glial-neuronal interactions, myelination mechanisms, and neurodevelopmental disease modeling.
• Techniques: Combines optogenetics, CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis, super-resolution imaging, and high-throughput behavioral analyses.

Awarded the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship (2023) and BRAIN Initiative R00 grant, her work aims to identify glia-driven therapeutic targets for neurological disorders. She has also secured funding from CDG Care for zebrafish rare disease research and the McDonnell Center for collaborative projects with the Pollina Lab.

• Publication Themes: Astrocyte regulation of plasticity, glial cell atlas construction, myelin repair pathways, and GPR56 receptor functions.

Lab Philosophy: Committed to equity and inclusion, Ackerman Lab provides paid positions for trainees at all levels, solicits anonymous mentorship feedback, and builds mentorship networks for underrepresented researchers. The lab rejects all forms of prejudice and emphasizes cultural competence in scientific training.