Abbey Houchin

Graduate Student
Email: lhouchin@uci.edu

About Me

Research Interests

Fun!

I am originally from Merritt Island, Florida, and graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2020 with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Medical Sociology. As an undergraduate researcher, I studied cardiovascular development and the physiological basis of age-related cardiovascular disease. I came to UCI in 2020 as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP, MD/PhD program), and after completing two years of medical school, I joined the Yassa lab in January 2023. My current research focus is on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and specifically on the development of biomarkers that can be used to study AD in minoritized populations. To complement this work, I am also pursuing a Graduate Emphasis in Chicano/Latino Studies. Ultimately, I hope that my work will help make AD diagnosis and care more effective, accessible, and equitable for patients of all backgrounds.

I am interested in the intersection of health equity and neuroscience, and specifically in working to address disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment. Individuals from minoritized backgrounds are at a much higher risk of developing AD and, at the same time, are less likely to have access to early testing and medical care. Moreover, many prior research studies of AD and AD therapeutics have not included minoritized populations or adequately accounted for the social and structural factors underlying many health disparities. Thus, developing new tools that can help us understand and address AD disparities is a critical public health goal. Currently, I am working toward this goal by examining perivascular spaces as a potential biomarker of AD risk and disease progression, and pairing this data with an examination of social and structural factors – such as socioeconomic status, social support/stressors, or food insecurity – to better understand how these factors can contribute to brain health and disease. Importantly, our lab is making an intentional effort to recruit participants from minoritized populations (particularly the Hispanic/Latino population) as part of our AD study, ensuring that our participant sample is representative of the Southern California population. I am very excited to be able to connect my interest in the social determinants of health with my interest in neurobiology and aging through the BEACoN project, and I am thrilled to be part of such an inspiring and inclusive research team.

I am passionate about health equity, social medicine, and physician advocacy, and I spend a lot of my time outside of the lab working on projects related to these topics. In my free time, I enjoy spending time outside (especially at the beach!), trying new restaurants and coffee shops, visiting my family, and cooking and baking with friends.