Tara Moore

Prof. Moore received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Calgary and her doctorate in Anatomy and Neurobiology from this department in 2000. She is currently a co-investigator in the Laboratory of Cognitive Neurobiology with Profs. Rosene and Mortazavi. This laboratory investigates the effects of aging and age-related disease on the structure and function of the cerebral cortex in non-human primates.

Prof. Moore’s primary research interests involve the investigation of the recovery of fine motor function and re-organization of the motor cortex following cortical injury. Using a non-human primate (NHP) model of cortical injury developed with Dr. Rosene, she is establishing the rate and pattern of recovery of fine motor function of the hand and the histopathological response of the brain to injury in this model with young and aged NHPs. Additional studies with this model include assessing the efficacy of various therapeutics to enhance the recovery of function following ischemia. A current study includes investigating the role of exosomes as a restorative treatment to facilitate recovery of function following cortical injury. This work is being conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI.

In addition, Prof. Moore is conducting studies with collaborators at Pfizer, Inc to assess the efficacy of various pharmaceutical therapies for slowing or reversing age-related cognitive decline in non-human primates.

Prof. Moore is also the Director of the graduate program MS in Forensic Anthropology. This program is designed to train individuals in the theory, practice, and methods of biological and skeletal anthropology employed by forensic anthropologists in medicolegal death investigations. Prof. Moore has completed training in human remains recovery with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and participated in the development of the Biomedical Forensic Sciences MS program.

Prof. Moore teaches Professional Skills and Human Anatomy and Osteology in the Forensic Anthropology program and Neurobiology of Aging in the department of Anatomy and Neurobiology.  Dr. Moore is also the Chair of the Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee, a member of the Department of Neurology and a member of the Animal Research Advisory Committee and Animal Core Advisory Committee at the School of Medicine. Also, she is a member of the American Heart Association Bioengineering Clinical Study Section.