Ashley S. Harms, PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the Department of Neurology and the Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics. As a dedicated neuroimmunologist, Dr. Harms studies the cellular and immunological mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of alpha-synucleinopathy disorders, with emphasis on antigen presentation. Utilizing novel genetic and viral model approaches to study the role of immune cell subsets, her lab focuses on how the protein alpha-synuclein contributes to microglial activation, peripheral immune cell infiltration, and subsequent activation of the immune response in Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy.