Beth Stevens has helped to identify the role of microglia and complement proteins in the "pruning" or removal of synaptic cells during brain development, and has determined that the impaired or abnormal microglial function could be responsible for diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's.
12 Facts About Beth Stevens
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Beth Stevens's mother taught elementary school, and her father was the school's principal.
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Beth Stevens completed her postdoctoral fellowship with Ben Barres at the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2008.
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Currently, Beth Stevens is a Research Associate in Neurology at Boston's Children's Hospital, Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
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In 2007, Beth Stevens discovered that proteins of the classical complement pathway were required for synapse elimination.
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Beth Stevens has explored the role of complement components in schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and glaucoma.
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Beth Stevens has found that microglia play a role in synapse loss in a range of disease states, including West Nile virus infection and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, where synapse loss precedes neuron death.
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Beth Stevens has identified microglia as a contributor to Rett syndrome progression independent of MECP2 mutation, which is known to cause the disease.
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Beth Stevens has received recognition for her discoveries and is the recipient of several awards, including the following:.
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Beth Stevens received the MacArthur Foundation's award of $625,000 in order to continue her studies on brain cells.
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Beth Stevens received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2012, which is awarded to young scientists by the US government.
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Beth Stevens shared this honor with 3 other neuroscientists, two of which are Nobel laureates.