Dr. Festa is a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Neurology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Department of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The goal of Dr. Festa's research is to understand the basic mechanisms governing developmental myelination and to leverage this knowledge to develop novel therapeutics that target remyelination in aging and disease.

The oligodendrocyte lineage is an active player in shaping neuronal circuitry and function. Moreover, oligodendrocytes have an endogenous capacity to restore their cell population via remyelination, a process driven primarily by the migration and differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs).

The progression of OPCs and subsequent remyelination is closely regulated by intrinsic mechanisms; however, in conditions of chronic neuroinflammation and aging, spontaneous remyelination is often inefficient and eventually fails, leading to permanent neuronal degradation and clinical disability. There is a current unmet clinical need to identify regulators of oligodendrocyte homeostasis that are disrupted during disease states and can be utilized to promote functional recovery in patients.

Dr. Festa works with cell culture, genetic, and disease models to identify and manipulate novel functions of organelles within the oligodendrocyte lineage to uncover intrinsic mechanisms underlying developmental myelination. The goal is to demonstrate therapeutic potential to alleviate cellular and functional white matter abnormalities comprising neurologic disease states, including multiple sclerosis, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Highlights of Dr. Festa's accomplishments include:

• Recipient of National Multiple Sclerosis Society Career Transition Fellowship
• 2024 Young Investigator Paper of the Year Award in Honor of Mark A. Smith (3rd place), Journal of Neurochemistry
• Discovery of novel mechanisms of organelles within the oligodendrocyte lineage

PhD, Drexel University College of Medicine (Pharmacology & Physiology), 2018

MS, Thomas Jefferson University (Pharmacology), 2013

BA, Haverford College (Psychology Major, Chemistry Minor), 2009

Research Assistant Professor

Society for Neurochemistry, 2022-

Society for Neuroscience, 2015-

Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 2013-

International Society for NeuroVirology, 2012-

Young Investigator Paper of the Year Award in Honor of Mark A. Smith (3rd place), Journal of Neurochemistry, 2024

Recipient of National Multiple Sclerosis Society Career Transition Fellowship, 2023

Society for Neuroscience Trainee Professional Development Award, 2021

Regulation of the oligodendrocyte actin cytoskeleton by the lysosomal cation channel TRPML1
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Career Transition Fellowship
2023-2028
The major focus of this project is to uncover the mechanisms by which the lysosomal cation channel TRPML1 regulates oligodendrocyte maturation, myelination, and remyelination.
PI: Lindsay Festa, PhD

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