College of MedicineCollege of MedicineJason Gerstner, PhD

Jason Gerstner, PhD

  1. Associate Professor
Email Addressj.gerstner@wsu.edu
Phone509-368-6898

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Education

  • University of Pennsylvania, Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, Post-Doctoral Fellowship
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD in Neuroscience Training Program
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, BSc in Zoology and BSc in Communication Arts

Biography

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania, Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, Post-Doctoral Fellowship
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD in Neuroscience Training Program
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, BSc in Zoology and BSc in Communication Arts

Experience

  • Graduate Faculty, Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Faculty Affiliate, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Faculty Affiliate, Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering

Research

I study molecular mechanisms that integrate sleep, circadian rhythms, and brain function, with a focus on how these processes interact with synaptic plasticity, learning, neurolgical disorders and neurodegenerative disease. My lab combines hypothesis-driven and discovery-based approaches across species—using rodent models, Drosophila neurogenetics, transcriptomics, and bioinformatics—to identify conserved pathways that regulate behavioral state and cognitive function.

A central focus of my work is the glial-enriched fatty-acid binding protein FABP7. We identified FABP7 as a time-of-day–regulated transcript that links astrocyte function, sleep, and memory, demonstrated conserved roles for FABP7/dFabp in sleep regulation and memory across species, and are defining mechanisms by which neural–glial interactions impact synaptic plasticity. I lead ongoing translational projects that connect sleep disruption to epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and glioma biology, including gene-expression and multi-omic studies and fly- and rodent-based small-molecule screening pipelines.

My research is supported by NIH and foundation funding. I mentor undergraduate, medical, and graduate trainees and aim to translate basic discoveries into biomarkers and therapeutic strategies addressing glial-related contributions to neurological disease.

In the Media

Honors & Awards

  • Steve Gleason Institute for Neuroscience Inaugural Fellow
  • Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine Honoring Leadership and Mentorship Award 2020
  • Outstanding Early Investigator Award – Honorable Mention, Sleep Research Society 2017
  • UPenn Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs Best Research Poster Presentation Award 2014

Publications