Travis Dunckley, PhD, obtained his undergraduate degree in molecular and cellular biology and biochemistry from the University of Arizona. His doctoral work was completed at the University of Arizona in the field of molecular and cellular biology. In 2000, Dr. Dunckley expanded his training to the field of neurobiology during a fellowship position at Barrow Neurological Institute where he studied structure/function interactions in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) and identified novel genes regulated by nAChR activity. In 2003 he transitioned to the neurogenomics division at TGen to leverage the rapidly developing genomics field for the identification of relevant therapeutic targets and biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. He has developed efficient single cell isolation and transcriptome profiling methods, high-throughput functional assays directly applicable to relevant phenotypic endpoints in neurodegenerative diseases – including alpha-synuclein accumulation and tau hyperphosphorylation, and he has performed large scale association studies to identify DNA variants underlying neurodegenerative disease. Recent work involves the role of epigenetics as a potentially modifiable factor contributing to neurodegeneration.