Education
2024 - Present
2024 - Present
Doctor of Medicine (MD)/Master of Public Health (MPH)
UAB Heersink School of Medicine/UAB School of Public Health
Birmingham, AL
2023 - 2024
UAB Collat School of Business
Master of Business Administration
Birmingham, AL
2017 - 2020
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience
Birmingham, AL
Birmingham, AL
UAB School of Public Health
Graduate Certificate in Global Health Studies
Birmingham, AL
Research
2019 - Present
University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, Civitan International Research Center, Department of Neurology
Research Assistant
Birmingham, AL
Conducting research on Parkinson's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia, with the goal of preventing the formation and spread of alpha-synuclein aggregates under the mentorship of Dr. Volpicelli-Daley.
Publications
Eizo Marutani, Maria Miranda, Timothy J. Durham, Sharon H. Kim, Dreson L. Russell, Presli P. Wiesenthal, Paul Lichtenegger, Marissa A. Menard, Charlotte F. Brzozowski, Gary Ruvkun, Joshua D. Meisel, Laura Volpicelli-Daley, Vamsi K. Mootha, Fumito Ichinose. (2024). Hypoxia ameliorates neurodegeneration and movement disorder in a murine model of Parkinsonβs disease [Manuscript Submitted].
Ananya Swaroop, Jodi R Paul, Laura J. McMeekin, Ashley M. Barnett, Alana M. Colafrancesco, Dreson L. Russell, Camille M. Smith, Micah S. Simmons, Laura A. Volpicelli-Daley, Rita M. Cowell, Karen L. Gamble. (2024). The molecular clock drives motivated locomotion and time-of-day-dependent firing patterns in mouse dopaminergic neurons [Manuscript Submitted].
Saroj Sah, Andrew D. Sauerbeck, Jyoti Gupta, Dayana PΓ©rez-AcuΓ±a, Jacob E. Reiber, Dreson L. Russell, Thomas M. Goralski, Michael X. Henderson, Laura A. Volpicelli-Daley, Michael J. Higley, Terrance T. Kummer, Thomas Biederer. (2024). Cortical synaptic vulnerabilities revealed in a Ξ±-synuclein aggregation model of Parkinsonβs disease [Manuscript Submitted]. Link to paper.
Nolwazi Z. Gcwensa, Dreson L. Russell, Khaliah Y. Long, Charlotte F. Brzozowski, Xinran Liu, Karen L. Gamble, Rita M. Cowell, Laura A. Volpicelli-Daley. (2024). Excitatory synaptic structural abnormalities produced by templated aggregation of Ξ±-syn in the basolateral amygdala, Neurobiology of Disease, 199. Link to paper.
Casey L. Mahoney-Crane, Megha Viswanathan, Dreson Russell, Rachel A.C. Curtiss, Jennifer Freire, Sai Sumedha Bobba, Sean D. Coyle, Monika Kandebo, Lihang Yao, Bang-Lin Wan, Nathan G. Hatcher, Sean M. Smith, Jacob N. Marcus, Laura A. Volpicelli-Daley [Ph.D]. (2022). Neuronopathic GBA1L444P mutation accelerates Glucosylsphingosine levels and formation of hippocampal alpha-synuclein inclusions, Journal of Neuroscience, 43(3), 501β521. Link to paper.
Lindsay Stoyka, Casey Mahoney, Drake Thrasher, Dreson Russell, Anna Cook, Anner Harris, Ashwin Narayanan, Tiara Janado, David Standaert, Erik Roberson, and Laura Volpicelli-Daley. (2021). Templated Ξ±-synuclein inclusion formation is independent of endogenous tau, eNeuro, 8(3). Link to paper.
Nolwazi Z Gcwensa, DreΜson L Russell, Rita M Cowell, Laura Anne Volpicelli-Daley. (2021). Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Synaptic and Axon Degeneration in Parkinson's Disease, Frontier in Cellular Neuroscience, 15. Link to paper.
Lindsay E. Stoyka, Andrew E. Arrant, Drake R. Thrasher, Dreson L. Russell, Jennifer Freire, Casey L. Mahoney, Ashwin Narayanan, Aseel G. Dib, David G. Standaert, Laura A. Volpicelli-Daley. (2020). Behavioral defects associated with amygdala and cortical dysfunction in mice with seeded Ξ±-synuclein inclusions, Neurobiology of Disease, 134. Link to paper.
Presentations
βHeterozygosity of GBA1 L444P mutation enhances hippocampal pathology and lipid accumulation.β Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) (November 2023, Phoenix, AZ)
βHeterozygosity of GBA1 L444P mutation enhances hippocampal pathology and lipid accumulation.β Society of Neuroscience (November 2022, San Diego, CA)
βL444P GBA mutation potentially mediates behavioral deficits and Ξ±-synuclein pathology.β National Conference on Undergraduate Research (April 2021, Virtual)
βL444P GBA mutation potentially mediates behavioral deficits and Ξ±-synuclein pathology.β The University of Alabama at Birmingham Fall Expo (November 2020, Birmingham, AL)
Professional Experience
2019 - Present
Founder and President
Unified Healing for Rural and Global Health (UHRGH)
Birmingham, AL
Unified Healing for Rural and Global Health (UHRGH) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality and access for all, regardless of location or socioeconomic status. We work to bridge the gap between developing and developed countries, as well as rural and urban areas within the United States, by providing disease control programs, volunteer labor, and healthcare facility reconstruction in impoverished areas. We also aim to raise awareness of rural health inequalities in the United States and provide citizens with resources to improve their health outcomes.
2019 - Present
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Project EMS: Education, Mentorship, Scholarship
Birmingham, AL
Project EMS, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that motivates and supports under-resourced students from multiple socioeconomic demographics on their journey toward a successful academic education.
Teaching Experience
2019 - Present
A tutoring company whose goal is to alleviate the academic stress experienced by college students through targeted, specialized instruction in advanced science courses such as Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry.
Birmingham, AL
Dresonβs Tutoring Co.
Founder
Honors and Awards
2023
Alabama Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel
2023 AAEOPP TRIO Achiever
Awarded to a former AAEOPP TRIO participant, this honor recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional academic and leadership achievements, as well as significant contributions to society, as nominated by the Association.
2020
Awarded as a UAB Ever Faithful 50 in the 2020 Student Excellence Awards
UAB Office of Student Involvement and Leadership
Awarded to highlight the exceptional work of our upcoming graduates and their commitment to UABβs mission pillars.
Phone
Dreson Russell Β© 2023