As Managing Director of the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies, Dr. Jacoby supports organization operations and manages scientific programs and communications. Dr. Jacoby received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology & Genetics in 2006 from Wayne State University in Detroit, where her graduate research training focused on the biochemical characterization and analysis of post-translational modifications of proteins involved in serotonin biosynthesis. She then joined the laboratory of Dr. Eva Feldman at the University of Michigan as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2006, and advanced to Research Investigator in 2011. In the Feldman laboratory, her research was focused on understanding the mechanisms of motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and examining the neuroprotective mechanisms of growth factor therapies using primary cellular models of ALS. She also developed and utilized zebrafish models of ALS to examine and investigate disease onset and progression. Dr. Jacoby served as Deputy Managing Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan from 2011 to 2017, and returned to the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies (formerly Program for Neurology Research & Discovery) as Managing Director in January 2018. Dr. Jacoby (Sakowski) has authored over 50 manuscripts and book chapters.

1. Support the research interests of the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies through project management, educational scientific programs, career development activities, DE&I initiatives, research funding proposal development, and technical and general audience scientific communications.

2. Manage projects focused on determining risk factors (e.g., the exposome, metabolic dysfunction) and pathogenic mechanisms for neurodegeneration in the central and peripheral nervous systems, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and peripheral neuropathy, to inform prevention efforts and therapeutic development.

3. Facilitate research focused on identifying and characterizing the efficacy and mechanisms of novel neuroprotective therapies, including stem cell technologies, for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases.