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Research Overview

As a postdoctoral researcher in the Benowitz lab, Sheri is currently leading a project that examines the role of the innate immune system in axon regrowth after experimental optic nerve injury. In addition, she was recently awarded a Craig H. Neilsen Foundation postdoctoral fellowship for a new project on axon regrowth after spinal cord injury.

 

Research Background

Sheri Peterson obtained her B.S. with College Honors in Biology and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2007, and her Ph.D. in Anatomy & Neurobiology from University of California Irvine in 2014, prior to joining the Benowitz lab as an NEI T32 postdoctoral fellow in 2014. Her dissertation research in Aileen Anderson’s laboratory focused on the role of the innate immune system in axon regrowth after experimental spinal cord injury. She has led collaborative projects, mentored undergraduate students, developed new assays, and was a Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation consortium associate. Her scientific and career interests include: CNS injury, axon regeneration, axon guidance, complement system, innate immune system, mentoring students, and leading a research team. Her personal interests include: hiking, camping, disc golf, cooking, martial arts, and Boston Bruins hockey.

Selected Publications

  1. Peterson SL, Benowitz LI (2018). “Mammalian Dendritic Regrowth: a new perspective on neural repair.” Brain. 141:1888-1899.
  2. Peterson SL, Nguyen HX, Mendez OA, Anderson AJ (2017). “Complement Protein C3 Suppresses Axon Growth and Promotes Neuron Loss.” Sci Rep. 7:12904.
  3. Peterson SL, Nguyen HX, Mendez OA, Anderson AJ (2015). “Complement Protein C1q Modulates Neurite Outgrowth In Vitro and Spinal Cord Axon Regeneration In Vivo.” J Neurosci. 35:4332–4349.
  4. Peterson SL, Anderson AJ (2014). “Complement and Spinal Cord Injury: Traditional and non-traditional aspects of complement cascade function in the injured spinal cord microenvironment.” Exp Neurol. 258:35-47.
  5. Anderson AJ, Peterson SL, Sontag CL (2012). Animal models of spinal cord injury. Essentials of Spinal Cord Injury. Fehlings, M.