Jennifer Kong, PhD

2024 Innovator Award Recipient

This award was supported by the Rudi Schulte Research Institute.

Leveraging a Cortical Spheroid System to Understand the Pathogenesis of Hydrocephalus.

Dr. Jennifer Kong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at University of Washington. Her study entitled “Leveraging a cortical spheroid system to understand the pathogenesis of hydrocephalus” utilizes a 3D cellular brain model known as cortical spheroids to investigate Notch signaling. Their studies aim to (1) explore why the specialized brain cells lining certain areas of the brain (neuroepithelial cells) are especially vulnerable to defects in Notch signaling, which is important for cell communication and development, and (2) test potential genes that might play a role in causing hydrocephalus in humans using the cortical spheroids.