Dr. Bess Frost

Biography

Bess Frost earned her B.S. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, where she investigated the effects of chronic alcohol exposure on the brain. She then earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, working with Dr. Marc Diamond on the pathogenic forms of tau, a protein that drives neurotoxicity related to Alzheimer's disease and tauopathies. Following her graduate studies, Bess worked with Dr. Mel Feany at Harvard Medical School during her postdoctoral training, where she discovered toxic forms of the tau protein that lead to neurodegeneration by negatively affecting DNA packaging and the three-dimensional architecture of the nucleus. In 2015, she established her independent laboratory at the University of Texas Health San Antonio and became the Salame-Feraud Director of the Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research. Dr. Frost's research centers on basic neurobiology related to brain aging and neurodegeneration, with a strong focus on Alzheimer's disease-related tauopathies. Her team employs a multi-system approach to rapidly identify, test, and validate hypotheses relevant to human diseases. Significant efforts in her laboratory are directed toward understanding transposable elements, nuclear genomic architecture, and RNA biology in the context of tauopathies and brain aging. Dr. Frost has led a phase IIa clinical trial involving subjects with Alzheimer's disease based on her team’s findings and has received recognition through multiple awards, including the O'Donnell Award in Medicine and the CurePSP Standout Achievement Award.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards