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Sylvia Perez, PhD
Tau, Splicing, Dementia
Sylvia Perez, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Dr. Perez’s expertise includes comparative neuroanatomy, with a focus on the biochemistry and connectivity of the cholinergic basal forebrain systems as well as on β-amyloid and tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease, Down syndrome, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. She is a member of the Society for Neuroscience.
Dr. Perez received her PhD in neuroanatomy from the University of Santiago de Compostela. She completed postdoctoral fellowships in neuroanatomy at the University of A Coruña and at the Consellería de Educación e Ciencias da Xunta de Galicia and in neurobiology at Rush University Medical Center.
Dr. Perez’s research interests include the neurobiology of the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. She also studies the role of tau in Down syndrome and dementia and the role of alpha-synuclein in the neurodegeneration of the cholinergic basal forebrain in Parkinson’s disease.
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rush University Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, Neurobiology, 2002-2004
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rush University Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, Neurobiology, 2000-2001
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of A Coruña, Neuroanatomy, 2000
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Consellería de Educación e Ciencias da Xunta de Galicia, Neuroanatomy, 2000
- PhD, University of Santiago de Compostela, Neuroanatomy, 1998
- Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Santiago de Compostela, Neuroanatomy, 1995-1996
- Licentiate in Biology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Fundamental Biology, 1992
- Society for Neuroscience
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium at Barrow Neurological Institute Award, “Cortical tau pathologic signature: A biomarker for Down syndrome with and without dementia,” 2018-2019
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium at Barrow Neurological Institute Award, “Epigenetic dysregulation in cholinergic neurons in PD dementia,” 2016-2017
- Brinson Foundation Award, 2014-2015
- Rush University Research Council Pilot Award, 2009-2010
- Rush Department of Neurological Sciences Pilot Award, “Beta-amyloid induces cholinergic striatal dysfunction in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.”
- Extraordinary Award for Doctoral Thesis, University of Santiago de Compostela, Biology Faculty, 1998
A two-stage combined anterolateral and endoscopic endonasal approach to the petroclival region: an anatomical study and clinical application
Date: 07/2022
Authors: Mohamed A. Labib, Xiaochun Zhao, Lena Mary Houlihan, Irakliy Abramov, Mizuho Inoue, Rafael Martinez-Perez, Joshua S. Catapano, Michael T. Lawton, Mark C. Preul, A Samy Youssef
Intrathecal amyloid-beta oligomer administration increases tau phosphorylation in the medial temporal lobe in the African green monkey: a nonhuman primate model of Alzheimer's disease
Date: 02/2022
Authors: Dustin R. Wakeman, Michael R. Weed, Sylvia E. Perez, Erika N. Cline, Kirsten L. Viola, Kyle C. Wilcox, David S. Moddrelle, Ernell Z. Nisbett, Anish M. Kurian, Amanda F. Bell, Ricaldo Pike, Peer B. Jacobson, William L. Klein, Elliott J. Mufson, Matthew S. Lawrence, John D. Elsworth
Cytochemical Characterization of Cerebrospinal Fluid Macrophage Inclusions in Pediatric Patients Receiving Intrathecal Nusinersen (SPINRAZA®) for Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Date: 01/2022
Authors: Kristian T. Schafernak, Jeffrey R. Jacobsen, Dulce Hernandez, Robin D. Kaye, Sylvia E. Perez
Atlas of lesion locations and postsurgical seizure freedom in focal cortical dysplasia: A MELD study
Date: 01/2022
Authors: Konrad Wagstyl, Kirstie Whitaker, Armin Raznahan, Jakob Seidlitz, Petra E. Vértes, Stephen Foldes, Zachary Humphreys, Wenhan Hu, Jiajie Mo, Marcus Likeman, Shirin Davies, Matteo Lenge, Nathan T. Cohen, Yingying Tang, Shan Wang, Mathilde Ripart, Aswin Chari, Martin Tisdall, Nuria Bargallo, Estefanía Conde-Blanco, Jose Carlos Pariente, Saül Pascual-Diaz, Ignacio Delgado-Martínez, Carmen Pérez-Enríquez, Ilaria Lagorio, Eugenio Abela, Nandini Mullatti, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Katy Vecchiato, Yawu Liu, Maria Caligiuri, Ben Sinclair
Comparative neuropathology in aging primates: A perspective
Date: 11/2021
Authors: Carmen Freire-Cobo, Melissa K. Edler, Merina Varghese, Emily Munger, Jessie Laffey, Sophia Raia, Selena S. In, Bridget Wicinski, Maria Medalla, Sylvia E. Perez, Elliott J. Mufson, Joseph M. Erwin, Elaine E. Guevara, Chet C. Sherwood, Jennifer I. Luebke, Agnès Lacreuse, Mary A. Raghanti, Patrick R. Hof


Sylvia Perez, PhD
Tau, Splicing, Dementia
Sylvia Perez, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Dr. Perez’s expertise includes comparative neuroanatomy, with a focus on the biochemistry and connectivity of the cholinergic basal forebrain systems as well as on β-amyloid and tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease, Down syndrome, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. She is a member of the Society for Neuroscience.
Dr. Perez received her PhD in neuroanatomy from the University of Santiago de Compostela. She completed postdoctoral fellowships in neuroanatomy at the University of A Coruña and at the Consellería de Educación e Ciencias da Xunta de Galicia and in neurobiology at Rush University Medical Center.
Dr. Perez’s research interests include the neurobiology of the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. She also studies the role of tau in Down syndrome and dementia and the role of alpha-synuclein in the neurodegeneration of the cholinergic basal forebrain in Parkinson’s disease.

- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rush University Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, Neurobiology, 2002-2004
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rush University Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, Neurobiology, 2000-2001
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of A Coruña, Neuroanatomy, 2000
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Consellería de Educación e Ciencias da Xunta de Galicia, Neuroanatomy, 2000
- PhD, University of Santiago de Compostela, Neuroanatomy, 1998
- Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Santiago de Compostela, Neuroanatomy, 1995-1996
- Licentiate in Biology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Fundamental Biology, 1992
- Society for Neuroscience
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium at Barrow Neurological Institute Award, “Cortical tau pathologic signature: A biomarker for Down syndrome with and without dementia,” 2018-2019
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium at Barrow Neurological Institute Award, “Epigenetic dysregulation in cholinergic neurons in PD dementia,” 2016-2017
- Brinson Foundation Award, 2014-2015
- Rush University Research Council Pilot Award, 2009-2010
- Rush Department of Neurological Sciences Pilot Award, “Beta-amyloid induces cholinergic striatal dysfunction in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.”
- Extraordinary Award for Doctoral Thesis, University of Santiago de Compostela, Biology Faculty, 1998
A two-stage combined anterolateral and endoscopic endonasal approach to the petroclival region: an anatomical study and clinical application
Date: 07/2022
Authors: Mohamed A. Labib, Xiaochun Zhao, Lena Mary Houlihan, Irakliy Abramov, Mizuho Inoue, Rafael Martinez-Perez, Joshua S. Catapano, Michael T. Lawton, Mark C. Preul, A Samy Youssef
Intrathecal amyloid-beta oligomer administration increases tau phosphorylation in the medial temporal lobe in the African green monkey: a nonhuman primate model of Alzheimer's disease
Date: 02/2022
Authors: Dustin R. Wakeman, Michael R. Weed, Sylvia E. Perez, Erika N. Cline, Kirsten L. Viola, Kyle C. Wilcox, David S. Moddrelle, Ernell Z. Nisbett, Anish M. Kurian, Amanda F. Bell, Ricaldo Pike, Peer B. Jacobson, William L. Klein, Elliott J. Mufson, Matthew S. Lawrence, John D. Elsworth
Cytochemical Characterization of Cerebrospinal Fluid Macrophage Inclusions in Pediatric Patients Receiving Intrathecal Nusinersen (SPINRAZA®) for Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Date: 01/2022
Authors: Kristian T. Schafernak, Jeffrey R. Jacobsen, Dulce Hernandez, Robin D. Kaye, Sylvia E. Perez
Atlas of lesion locations and postsurgical seizure freedom in focal cortical dysplasia: A MELD study
Date: 01/2022
Authors: Konrad Wagstyl, Kirstie Whitaker, Armin Raznahan, Jakob Seidlitz, Petra E. Vértes, Stephen Foldes, Zachary Humphreys, Wenhan Hu, Jiajie Mo, Marcus Likeman, Shirin Davies, Matteo Lenge, Nathan T. Cohen, Yingying Tang, Shan Wang, Mathilde Ripart, Aswin Chari, Martin Tisdall, Nuria Bargallo, Estefanía Conde-Blanco, Jose Carlos Pariente, Saül Pascual-Diaz, Ignacio Delgado-Martínez, Carmen Pérez-Enríquez, Ilaria Lagorio, Eugenio Abela, Nandini Mullatti, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Katy Vecchiato, Yawu Liu, Maria Caligiuri, Ben Sinclair
Comparative neuropathology in aging primates: A perspective
Date: 11/2021
Authors: Carmen Freire-Cobo, Melissa K. Edler, Merina Varghese, Emily Munger, Jessie Laffey, Sophia Raia, Selena S. In, Bridget Wicinski, Maria Medalla, Sylvia E. Perez, Elliott J. Mufson, Joseph M. Erwin, Elaine E. Guevara, Chet C. Sherwood, Jennifer I. Luebke, Agnès Lacreuse, Mary A. Raghanti, Patrick R. Hof