Alexandra Knudson

I am a third year in the program so I have finished my first two years of medical school and am now doing full time PhD research. I graduated from The College of William and Mary in Virginia with a BS in biology in 2001. I spent the year after graduation doing research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD as a post-baccalaureate fellow. My first few years at KUMed have been great. In addition to classes, I have been involved in many extracurricular activities, including the JayDoc Free Clinic, the Doctors’ Notes A Cappella group, the Honor Council, the American Medical Student Association, and the student interest group in neurology.

My research interests are mostly focused on the interactions between major systems in the body such as neuroendocrinology and neuroimmunology. My past research included an Honors Thesis in molecular endocrinology and genetics, investigating heterodimerization and nuclear import of the thyroid hormone receptor. My research at the National Institutes of Health was focused on looking at the role the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (aka "stress" axis) plays in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. I am now working on a Neuroscience PhD in the department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. My project is looking at diabetes-induced gene expression changes in the dorsal root ganglia in a mouse model of diabetic neuropathy. I am also working with clinical neurologists to obtain skin and nerve biopsy samples from human patients for gene and anatomy studies.

Outside of school, my interests include music (playing and singing), ashtanga yoga, history and philosophy of medicine (KU has a great department in this...),hiking, and ethnobotany.

I am happy to answer any questions: aknudson@kumc.edu