Savannah Powles

Program: Neurosciences

Current advisor: Tammie L.S. Benzinger, MD, PhD

Undergraduate university: Rice University, 2023

Enrollment year: 2024

Research summary
I use advanced neuroimaging and fluid biomarkers to map how neuroinflammation influences tau propagation and clinical decline across sporadic and autosomal dominant forms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Tau pathology is the strongest predictor of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), yet the exact mechanisms driving its anatomical spread remain poorly understood. Using a novel PET tracer ([11C]CS1P1) alongside plasma biomarkers, my research investigates how S1PR1-mediated neuroinflammation precedes and exacerbates the spatial propagation of tau. By mapping these inflammatory and pathological trajectories across both sporadic and autosomal dominant AD (ADAD) cohorts, we can establish a precise biological timeline of disease progression. Further, my work uses clinical trial data to determine if anti-amyloid therapies successfully disrupt this neuroinflammatory-tau axis, identifying windows for therapeutic intervention.

Graduate publications
Clifford DB, Benzinger TLS, Han JY, Powles S, Paczynski M, Ances BM, Campbell JW. 2026 Treating Alzheimer’s disease in a person living with HIV. Alzheimers Dement (Amst), 18(1):e70259. PMCID: PMC12914134

Danhash EP, Verbeck AC, Western D, Díaz-Pacheco AS, Galasso G, You SF, Huang G, Starr E, Miller N, Nadarajah CJ, Tiemann Powles S, Musiek ES, Herz J, Iyer AK, Cirrito J, Cruchaga C, Karch CM. 2025 Ms4a4a deficiency ameliorates plaque pathology in a mouse model of amyloid accumulation. Alzheimers Dement, 21(8):e70580. PMCID: PMC12371455