Affiliation: The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center, Department of Neurological Surgery

Kristy Townsend holds a PhD in Neuroscience and is currently PI of the Neurobiology and Energy Balance Laboratory and Associate Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at The Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center.  Townsend's research focuses on how adult neural plasticity (both in the brain and in peripheral nerves innervating adipose tissues) impact the maintenance of energy balance, and how these processes become dysregulated in conditions like neurodegeneration, peripheral neuropathy, obesity, and diabetes.  Specifically related to this collection, the Townsend Lab investigates novel populations of adult stem cells in the brain, and how they behave in response to changing metabolic states.