Destiny Berisha

Lab Research Projects

I contribute to the following research areas in the Translational Neuroscience Laboratory.

It is my professional goal to merge computational methods and basic sleep science to investigate the utility of biological signals as biomarkers for early disease detection in the clinic. My doctoral research aims to determine the role of insufficient or disordered sleep, namely sleep-disordered breathing in age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by investigating downstream and concurrent impacts this pathology may have on the cerebrovascular and inflammatory environment in the brain. My ultimate goal is to become an independent investigator and build an interdisciplinary research group that works to understand the role that sleep plays in promoting brain health and translate this knowledge to public health recommendations and interventions. Understanding these neurobiological mechanisms that underlie basic memory function is a necessary stepping stone to identify potential targets for treating age-related memory impairments, as we will see a large aging population in the coming decades. I work with tools such as high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look into fundamental mechanisms in sleep that may underlie diverse cognitive aging trajectories in older adults in the hopes of advancing translational science to combat cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.

Moving to California from New York has turned me into quite the outdoors-person, so I love to go on hikes, rollerblade at the beach, bike, and take walks outside while listening to some of my favorite podcasts like Ologies by Alie Ward (yay for science communication!). My favorite video game of all time is the Witcher 3 (based off of my favorite book series), with a close second being the Ghost of Tsushima. My heart is always happy when there is coffee ice cream around.

Mander BM, Dave A, Lui KK, Sprecher K, Berisha D, Chappel-Farley M, Chen I, Riedner B, Heston M, Suridjan I, Kollmorgen G, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Carlsson C, Okonkwo O, Asthana S, Johnson S, Bendlin B, Benca RM. (2022) Inflammation, tau pathology, and synaptic integrity associated with sleep spindles and memory prior to β-amyloid positivity. SLEEP.

Nguyen DT, Berisha DE, Konofagou EE, Dmochowski JP. (2022) Neuronal responses to focused ultrasound are gated by pre-stimulation brain rhythms. Brain Stimulation. 15(1):233-243. 

Nguyen, D., Berisha, D., Konofagou, E., Dmochowski, J. (2021) Differential effects of amplitude-modulated transcranial focused ultrasound on excitatory and inhibitory neurons. (preprint)

Dmochowski, G., Shereen, A., Berisha, D., Dmochowski, J. (2020) Near-infrared light increases functional connectivity with a non-thermal mechanism. Cerebral Cortex Communications.

Knotkova, H., Riggs, A., Berisha, D., Borges, H., Bernstein, H., Patel, V., Truong, D.Q., Unal, G., Arce, D., Datta, A., Bikson, M. (2018) Automatic M1-SO montage headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) suitable for home and high-throughput in-clinic applications. Neuromodulation.

Berisha DE, Rizvi B, Chappel-Farley MG, Chen IY, Sattari N, Dave A, Vinces K, Meza NJ, Lui KK, Neikrug AB, Benca RM, Yassa MA, Mander BA. (2022, June). Apnea in REM Sleep: A potential culprit in the tie between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Alzheimer’s disease. Abstract (#18) presented at the 2022 Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease Centers Research Symposium. Irvine, CA, USA.

Berisha DE, Chappel-Farley MG, Malhas R, Gross TJ, Chen IY, Dave A, Lui KK, Neikrug AB, Yassa MA, Benca RM, Mapstone M, Mander BA. (2022, March). Associations between obstructive sleep apnea, anti-inflammatory interleukins, and cortical 𝛃-amyloid burden in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Abstract (#1603) presented at the meeting of World Sleep Congress in Rome, Italy.

Berisha, D. (2021, June) Local sleep features, inflammaging, and memory. Presented at a seminar for the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, School of Biological Sciences, UCI.

Berisha, D., Chen, D., Jiang, J., Samuila, D., Tahir, A., Vazquez, H. (2019, May). Low-cost scanning acoustic microscope for imaging and cell culture stimulation. Poster session presented at the meeting of Biomedical Engineering Expo Day, the Grove School of Engineering.

Mahmood, A., Berisha, D., Harounian, J., Knotkova, H. (2019, October). tDCS-Telehealth Technology and Protocol for Successful tDCS Administration by Octogenarians for Symptom Control in Home Settings. Abstract (#11) presented at the meeting of Neuromodulation: The Science and NYC Neuromodulation.