Alison Moe, PhD

I received my PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017. My dissertation focused on pattern formation during single cell wound healing in Xenopus laevis oocytes. I developed tools to characterize the localization of downstream effectors of the Rho GTPases during single cell wound healing and discovered a pattern formation hierarchy of these signaling events during repair.

I joined the Drobyski lab in 2017 and my current project involves using mouse models to study the central nervous system (CNS) effects of Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) after bone marrow transplantation. Specifically, I am investigating the contribution of host microglia, endocannabinoid signaling, inflammatory cytokines, and tryptophan metabolism on neuroinflammation during GVHD. Neurotoxicity is an understudied complication of this disease, as well as a major complication of other immunotherapeutic strategies, including CAR T cell and immune checkpoint therapy. Therefore, my studies have potentially broader implications that could lead to novel mechanistic insights that lower the risk of neurotoxicity after immunotherapy.