My name is Roey Beniluz, and I am a third-year Neuroscience student with a minor in Chemistry. I’m from East Brunswick, New Jersey but have also lived in Chicago and Boca Raton, FL. A fun fact about me is that I lived in Israel for a year and a half in middle school and am fluent in Hebrew!

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating illness affecting the parts of the brain that are responsible for memory and other cognitive functions. One of the first affected brain areas in Alzheimer’s is the Entorhinal Cortex (EC), a major hub of learning, memory, spatial navigation, and contextual awareness. My project is to investigate the anatomical impact of Alzheimer’s disease on the human brain, with a special focus on the EC, due to its unique neural development. I work under Dr. Shawn Sorrells’ laboratory, which researches neuronal migration into the EC during and after development.  Much is unknown about how postnatal migration of neurons contributes to EC development, and some neurons arrive at the EC only in toddlers. This is exciting as a source of potential plasticity in EC circuits as they form.  As a part of my project, I am interested in knowing whether the specialized neuron types of the EC are later impacted in AD. By comparing age matched control and Alzheimer’s diseased brain sections, I will be able to explore how the neuronal development of the EC and other brain regions correlates with risk and damage done by Alzheimer’s. This research feels important to me considering that Alzheimer’s is becoming more and more prevalent and is placing a significant burden on healthcare systems.  It is my hope that my research into the EC may provide understanding about cell types that are affected by Alzheimer’s, translating to potential treatment targets.

I am an aspiring physician scientist, and I hope to investigate diseases of the nervous system while treating the patients who suffer from them. Specifically, I am interested in Alzheimer’s and dementia, and how we can develop improved treatments and slow the progression of these illnesses. However, I also seek the deep connections offered by a clinical position treating patients with long-term illnesses. The CURF will help me achieve both of these goals by guiding me in proposing, conducting, and presenting my own research project with the assistance of an experienced mentor. It will allow me to gain a better understanding of research methods, data analysis techniques, and scientific writing, all of which will be invaluable to my career goals and simultaneously better prepare me for my future academic pursuits.