Sabrina Kistler Receives 2025 Marion R. Kramer Scholarship

Sabrina Kistler, a Biomolecular Pharmacology PhD student in the Ho Lab, received the 2025 Marion R. Kramer Scholarship.

Sabrina’s research investigates the role of alternative RNA splicing in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with a particular focus on the apolipoprotein E (APOE) and Reelin receptor, APOER2. The ε4 allele of APOE is a well-established genetic risk factor for AD and a Reelin variant was recently found to be protective against AD cognitive impairment. APOER2 undergoes extensive alternative splicing, which is altered in AD brains. The central hypothesis of this project is that differences in APOER2 splicing in AD change its interactions with APOE and Reelin, leading to transcriptional changes, synaptic deficits, and subsequent neuronal dysfunction. To explore this, Sabrina is utilizing both human brain samples and knock-in mouse models to examine how different APOER2 splice variants, in conjunction with APOE3 and APOE4 isoforms, contribute towards disease progression.

Congratulations Sabrina!