Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky
Dr. Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Sanders Brown Center of Aging at the University of Kentucky. Research in Dr. Johnson’s lab is dedicated to understanding the role of the Alzheimer’s disease risk factor Apolipoprotein E (APOE) in cerebral metabolism. With a special focus on glia and their contributions to neurodegeneration, his lab employs a variety of transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches (from cells to mice to humans) in order to identify early-life changes in metabolism associated with APOE. The Johnson lab’s overarching goal is to discover new therapeutic targets that will allow them to reprogram metabolism in individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s Disease in order to enhance cognitive resilience and to extend the brain’s health span.