Name: Alie Caldwell
Hometown: Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Hobbies: Outside of science, I spend my time cooking (mostly Mexican food), gardening (mostly tomatoes), writing (mostly YouTube scripts), and reading (mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and comics). I look for any excuse to spend time outdoors, hate running, and love hiking.
What do you study? I study the ways that brain cells called astrocytes affect the connections between neurons, the cells that do all of the communicating in our brains. Astrocytes create proteins that are important for normal brain development, and problems with astrocyte proteins have been linked to disorders that cause intellectual or physical disabilities. I am studying these astrocytes to see if I can find out what those proteins are and what’s different about the astrocytes in these disorders.
Why is it important? Learning more about these cells and the proteins they create will help us better understand the way the brain develops normally, so we have more information to work with when something goes wrong. My research may also help find new ways to treat these disorders using medications.
What do you like about being a scientist? I like knowing that my work can have an impact on the lives of real people. I love the project I am working on, and the people that I work with – and I love working in a place where I can be super excited about science every day and no one thinks it’s weird!
This is a picture of brain astrocytes that I took on a microscope.
