Sarena Abdallah
Graduate Student
Email:
About
My name is Sarena– I pursued a Bachelor's in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master's in Medical Sciences at Boston University. During my time in Boston, I researched Alzheimer's Disease with Harvard Medical School where we explored how beta-amyloid disrupts brain cell function by using multiphoton imaging to observe plaques in the brains of living mice. To further my knowledge and experience in neurodegenerative research, I decided to move back to Illinois and pursue my PhD at UIC. Aside from my path to becoming a mad scientist, I am a photographer/videographer, sneakerhead, and probably getting an iced matcha right now.
Selected Publications
McNamara, S. W. T., Richards, K. A., Trad, A. M., Abdallah, S., & Hill, L. (2023). Adapted physical educators’ experiences with school administration and marginalization. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 42(2), 283–292. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2021-0299
Richards, K. A., McNamara, S. W. T., Trad, A. M., Hill, L., & Abdallah, S. (2023). Adapted physical educators navigating relationships with school administrators. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 40(2), 238–256. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.2022-0107
Gillani, R. L., Sanchez-Mico, M. V., Algamal, M., Abdallah, S., Whiteman, S., Paredes, R., Ndambakuwa, W. H., Sanker, U., Scherlek, A. A., Hou, S. S., Bussière, T., Levy, M., & Bacskai, B. J. (2025, July 3). Rapid brain hemorrhage in mice treated with anti-amyloid-beta immunotherapy in the absence of amyloid plaque clearance or marked astrocyte dysfunction [Preprint]. Neuron. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5336841
Selected Presentations
Abdallah, S. (2025, July). Somatostatin interneuron inhibition as a strategy to restore excitation-inhibition balance in Alzheimer’s disease. Paper presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, Toronto, Canada.
Abdallah, S. (2024). Enhancing behavioral function in Alzheimer’s disease models via interneuron targeting. Paper presented at the Massachusetts Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Boston, MA.