
Jefferson W. Kinney, PhD
Professor, Founding Chair of the Department of Brain Health, Reg Grundy and Joy Chambers-Grundy Chair for Brain Health, Co-Director, Pam Quirk Brain Health and Biomarker Laboratory
Biography
Jefferson Kinney, Ph.D., is the founding chair of the department of brain health and holds the Reg Grundy and Joy Chambers-Grundy Chair for Brain Health in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Brain Health. He is also the director of the Pam Quirk Brain Health and Biomarker Laboratory and the Translational Mechanisms and Drug Discovery Laboratory in the department of brain health.
Kinney earned his doctoral degree at Colorado State University and was awarded an Intramural Research Training Fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health investigating the biology and behavior of transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. He was then selected as the Helen Dorris Fellow in the department of neuropharmacology at The Scripps Research Institute, where he researched molecular mechanisms in neurological disorders. He joined the UNLV faculty in 2007.
Kinney's primary research focuses on investigations of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease as well as the investigation of candidate and emerging biomarkers in neurodegenerative disorders. His research combines investigations of the underlying mechanisms of disease that may serve as new therapeutic targets as well as establishing and discovering novel biomarkers that can be used in the detection, diagnosis, and evaluation of treatment efficacy of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Kinney's research provides a foundation for understanding the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and the utility of personalized treatment approaches to preserve brain health.
Research Interests
Kinney's research involves the investigation of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease. Research projects in his laboratory focus on the investigation of cellular and molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease, with particular emphasis on neuronal and glia interactions and the investigation of novel therapeutic targets. Additional translational research projects in the laboratory extend to the evaluation of clinical patient samples for novel biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and traumatic brain injury. These projects are part of the Pam Quirk Brain Health and Biomarker Laboratory in the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience.