Sarah Thomas


Sarah Thomas

Sarah Thomas

Campus: KU Medical Center Campus
Program Mentor: Doug Wright, Ph.D.
Mentor's Academic Department: Anesthesiology
Joined NS Program in 2022

Research Overview

The Wright Lab studies sensory nerves with a focus on neuropathy, which is the sensation of pain, tingling, or numbness usually experienced in the distal limbs such as the feet. My project is focused on unraveling how the immune system interacts with the nervous system to contribute to pain and sensory nerve function outcomes. I am especially interested in exploring whether activating or blocking certain immune receptors can accelerate or slow the loss of peripheral nerves and neuropathy development.

Publications

Thomas, Sarah; Intraepidermal Nerve Fiber Density in Disease: A Scoping Review. US Association for the Study of Pain. Durham NC, April 2023. Peripheral Nerve Society. Copenhagen, Denmark, June 2023 

Thomas S, Enders J, Kaiser A, Rovenstine L, Heslop L, Hauser W, Chadwick A, Wright D. (2023) Abnormal intraepidermal nerve fiber density in disease: A scoping review. Front Neurol; 14,1161077.

Enders J, Jack J, Thomas S, Lynch P, Lasnier S, Cao X, Swanson MT, Ryals JM, Thyfault JP, Puchalska P, Crawford PA, Wright DE. (2023) Ketolysis is required for the proper development and function of the somatosensory nervous system. Exp Neurol; 365,114428.

Enders JD, Thomas S, Swanson MT, Ryals JM, Wright DE. (2022) Ketogenic diet prevents methylglyoxal-evoked nociception by scavenging methylglyoxal. Pain; 163,12.

Ledreux A, Thomas S, Hamlett ED, Trautman C, Gilmore A, Rickman Hager E, Paredes DA, Margittai M, Fortea J, Granholm AC. (2021) Small Neuron-Derived Extracellular Vesicles from Individuals with Down Syndrome Propagate Tau Pathology in the Wildtype Mouse Brain. J Clin Med; 10,17. 

Lemoine L, Ledreux A, Mufson EJ, Perez SE, Simic G, Doran E, Lott I, Carroll S, Bharani K, Thomas S, Gilmore A, Hamlett ED, Nordberg A, Granholm AC. Regional binding of tau and amyloid PET tracers in Down syndrome autopsy brain tissue. (2020) Mol Neurodegener; 15,68.