Natalie DiProspero

Graduate Student
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Office: 1400 Biological Sciences III
Email: ndiprosp@uci.edu

About Me

Projects

Research Interests

Publications

Posters

Awards and Honors

Fun!

I first met Dr. Mike Yassa in the summer of 2013 in my hometown of Baltimore, MD. While working as a research assistant in his lab at Johns Hopkins University, I learned about the important role the hippocampus plays in pattern separation and how that changes with age. That experience sparked my interest in the aging brain. I earned a B.A. in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology and French from Washington University in St. Louis in 2015. I spent two years as a postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Institute on Aging in the Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, where I investigated the relationship between metabolic syndrome and longitudinal change in cortical thickness in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging dataset. In 2017, I decided to rejoin Mike’s lab, this time as a PhD student here at UCI. My current research involves identifying biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome using resting state fMRI, amyloid and tau PET, and neuropsychological assessments.

Lab Research Projects

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

My research focuses on using neuroimaging methods like resting state fMRI and PET to identify biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). People with DS are at increased risk of developing AD due to a genetic predisposition to increased β-amyloid accumulation. Longitudinal studies of people with DS offer a unique opportunity to track brain changes that appear prior to clinical onset of AD. Neuroimaging biomarkers of AD allow researchers to stage an individual’s disease progression, which in turn enables clinical trial enrollment of at-risk individuals who don’t yet show signs of cognitive impairment.

DiProspero N, Keator DB, Phelan M, van Erp TGM, Doran E, Powell DK, Van Pelt KL, Schmitt FA, Head E, Lott IT, Yassa MA. Selective impairment of long-range default mode network functional connectivity as a biomarker for preclinical Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2022;85(1):153-65. doi: 10.3233/JAD-210572.

DiProspero N, Kim S, Yassa, M. Magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers for cognitive decline in Down syndrome. In: Head E, Lott I, editors. The neurobiology of aging and Alzheimer disease in Down syndrome. 1st ed. Cambridge (MA): Elsevier Academic Press. 2021. p. 149-172.

Reagh ZM, Roberts JM, Ly M, DiProspero N, Murray E, Yassa MA. Spatial discrimination deficits as a function of mnemonic interference in aged adults with and without memory impairment. Hippocampus. 2014;24(3):303-14. doi: 10.1002/hipo.22224.

Selected Posters:

DiProspero N,Lingad JN, Chappel-Farley MG, Henningfield CM, Yassa MO. Building a sustainable model of neuroscience education and community outreach. Poster presented at: Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience; 2022 Nov 12-16; San Diego, CA.

DiProspero N,Sathishkumar M, McMillan L, Keator DB, Doran E, Hom C, Nguyen D, Rosas HD, Lai F, Brickman AM, Schupf N, Silverman W, Lott IT, Yassa MA. Default mode network and medial temporal lobe functional connectivity changes with Alzheimer’s disease severity and cognitive impairment in individuals with Down syndrome. Poster presented at: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference; 2022 Jul 31 – Aug 4; San Diego, CA.

DiProspero N, Keator DB, van Erp TGM, Doran E, Lott IT, Yassa MA. Reduced long-range default mode network connectivity predicts conversion to Alzheimer’s disease in older individuals with Down syndrome. Poster presented at: Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience; 2019 Oct 19-23; Chicago, IL.

Trainee Professional Development Award, Society for Neuroscience (2021)
Director’s Excellence Award, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California – Irvine (2021)
Predoctoral appointment to T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award: Training in the Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease (2T32AG000096-31), Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California – Irvine (2019)
Jared M. Roberts Memorial Graduate Student Travel Award, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California – Irvine (2019)
Outstanding Poster Award, NIH Postbac Poster Day (2017)
NIA Scientific Director’s Award, NIA Scientific Retreat (2017)
Outstanding Poster Award, NIH Postbac Poster Day (2016)
College Honors in Arts and Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis (2015)
Summer Undergraduate Research Award, Washington University in St. Louis (2012)

When I’m not doing research, I enjoy running, practicing hot yoga, skiing, hiking, camping, gardening, cooking, listening to true crime and science podcasts, and hanging out with my cat, Sylvia.

What the lab means to me…

“I was nervous to move across the country for graduate school, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The Yassa lab has become my home away from home, and Mike has been a mentor every step of the way. He encourages us to pursue our research interests, even if they diverge from current or previous lines of research in the lab. He challenges us to grow our knowledge and skills by attending courses, workshops, and seminars relevant to our personal and professional development. But most importantly he fosters community among the members of the lab. We share our stories, our ideas, and our passions (especially food-related ones like homemade kombucha and baked goods!). I’m proud to be a part of this amazing science family.”