Tracy Bale
Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
Presentation Title: Extracellular vesicles serve as dynamic cellular communicators of stress & trauma
Presentation Summary:
Exposure to traumatic events and stress across the lifespan is a significant risk factor for neuropsychiatric disease, however we have relatively few biomarkers to enable better interventions and therapies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoparticles that travel in high concentrations in in circulation in all mammals important for cell-to-cell communication and regulation of homeostasis. In preclinical mouse studies, we identified the timing and mechanisms by which chronic stress can alter EV proteins important for embryo development, ultimately shaping the brain. Similarly, we identified unique proteins in circulating EVs from women following developmental time-specific trauma that were associated with PTSD risk. EVs have great potential to serve as biomarkers of prior life traumatic experiences and therapeutic targets for disease intervention.
About Tracy Bale
Tracy L. Bale is the Anschutz Foundation Endowed Chair in Women's Integrated Mental and Physical Health at the Ludeman Center and Professor and Director for InterGenerational Stress and Health and the Director for Sex Differences Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Washington in the Department of Pharmacology, and her postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute with Dr. Wylie Vale. Dr. Bale was previously Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania for 15 years. Her research focuses on the role of stress in neuropsychiatric disease, and the sex differences that underlie disease vulnerability in humans using the mouse as a preclinical model. She is interested in adversity across the lifespan, including at the germ cell level and the mechanisms involved in altering brain development. Dr. Bale’s lab attempts to translate research to humans to identify those processes and biomarkers important for promoting disease risk and resilience, especially in vulnerable populations. In her Directorship roles, she engages in the community, developing collaborations and partnerships with local organizations and policy makers. She serves on many advisory boards, including the NIMH Board of Scientific Counselors, and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Medtronic Award from the Society for Women’s Health Research and the Daniel H. Efron award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. She is the current President of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).