Hannah Mason

Hannah first became interested in neurodegeneration when her high school lacrosse coach was diagnosed with ALS. Determined to learn more about his disease and others like it, Hannah joined the laboratory of Dr. Lohitash Karumbaiah at the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center during her freshman year. Her research investigated using chondroitin-sulfate glycosaminoglycan hydrogels containing neural stem cells to treat traumatic brain injuries in rats. During her time in Dr. Karumbaiah’s laboratory, Hannah presented her research at the World Stem Cell Summit and was named an honorable mention for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship in 2016. 

In the summer of 2015, Hannah was awarded the Oregon National Primate Research Center’s Summer Undergraduate Fellowship. She spent 10 weeks studying freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease under the mentorship of Dr. Fay Horak at the Balance Disorders Laboratory. While in Portland, she also spent time shadowing Dr. Donald Girard, leading her to the realization that she wanted to pursue a career as a physician-scientist. 

Hannah is excited to begin her graduate studies through the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program under the guidance of Dr. Dorian McGavern. She will be investigating how neuroinflammatory responses post-traumatic brain injury affect plaque deposition and looks forward to learning more about how neuroinflammation affects neurodegeneration long-term. 

When she is not in the laboratory working with her mice, Hannah enjoys cooking, running, and spending time with her family. After finishing her graduate studies, she will attend medical school at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.