Maher screens for compounds that could slow or stop the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on Alzheimer’s. Her novel approach uses compounds derived from natural products, such as strawberries, turmeric and cannabis, in order to treat the cellular aging and memory loss observed in Alzheimer’s.

Oct 22, 2021 · LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute has appointed neuroscientist Pamela Maher to the position of Research Professor, a non-tenure faculty position, to reflect her achievements conducting groundbreaking research on Alzheimer’s disease.

LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute has appointed neuroscientist Pamela Maher to the position of Research Professor, a non-tenure faculty position, to reflect her achievements conducting groundbreaking research on Alzheimer’s disease.

The Salk Institute’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory, which Pamela Maher, PhD heads, has been studying CBN. It is a chemical found in marijuana and findings show how it can protect nerve cells in the brain from oxidative damage, a major pathway to cell death.

Maher, who has been a senior staff scientist at Salk since 2004, will continue her work screening for compounds that could slow or stop the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Two of her compounds are currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer’s (see this issue’s Discoveries for details).

Pamela Maher's 238 research works with 16,683 citations and 22,533 reads, including: The Geroprotective Drug Candidate CMS121 Alleviates Diabetes, Liver Inflammation, and Renal Damage in...

Dr. Pamela Maher received her BSc in biochemistry from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and her Ph.D., also in biochemistry, from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Jon Singer at the University of California at San Diego where she studied cytoskeletal dynamics and ...

Since joining Salk, Maher’s major focus has been on Alzheimer’s disease. Together with Schubert, Maher has worked on identifying pathways involved in the loss of nerve cells and finding compounds that can target those pathways. More recently, Maher has also studied how these pathways affect aging.

On this episode of Beyond Lab Walls, Maher recounts how the science major girl-next-dorm inspired her flourishing career studying age-related neurodegeneration and diseases like Alzheimer’s—and how we could potentially treat them with plant derivatives.