Shannon L. Macauley, PhD

Shannon L. Macauley, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Macauley graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology and worked in translational neuroscience at Genzyme Corporation prior to graduate school. She received her doctoral degree from Washington University, where she worked with Dr. Mark Sands to understand the pathophysiology and to develop therapeutic strategies for lysosomal storage diseases. Dr. Macauley’s postdoctoral training continued at Washington University, where she worked with Dr. David Holtzman to understand why individuals with type-2-diabetes are at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Since joining the faculty at Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2017, the main focus of Dr. Macauley’s laboratory is to understand how changes in metabolic and vascular function affect the progression of Alzheimer’s-related pathology. Ultimately, the goal is to leverage mechanistic findings as therapeutic targets for treating Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.