Associate Professor; Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Genetics

BA, BSc (Memorial); MSc (UNB); PhD (McGill); Postdoc (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

As Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Genetics, Dr. Jay Penney will use human induced pluripotent stem cell and mouse models to examine the roles of microglia, the brain’s innate immune cells, in Parkinson’s disease. Neurodegenerative disease research efforts have traditionally focused on neuronal mechanisms, however, recent large-scale genetic studies have highlighted microglia as important players in the development of conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Dr. Penney’s research program will probe the functions of Parkinson’s disease genetic risk factors in human microglia using advanced gene editing and stem cell differentiation techniques. In addition, stem cell-based neuron-microglia co-cultures, and microglia transplantation to Parkinson’s disease model mice, will be used to understand how gene edited human microglia affect neurodegeneration and disease-related neuronal pathologies.

The roles of microglia in Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis remain understudied, with a particular lack of research using human model systems. As such, Dr. Penney’s research program will be among the first to examine microglial genetic risk factors for Parkinson’s disease using human stem cell-based models.

Lab website: https://projects.upei.ca/jaypenney/