Dr. Aurelie de Rus Jacquet received a Master’s Degree from Purpan School of Engineering (Toulouse, France), and a PhD in medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology from Purdue University. She completed postdoctoral training at the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and at the Université Laval in Canada. She is currently an assistant professor in psychiatry and neurosciences at the Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval. She specializes in studying the neurobiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and discovering neuroprotective natural products. Using microfluidic technologies and models derived from stem cells, Dr. de Rus Jacquet investigates the role of alpha-synuclein in disease onset and progression, with a particular focus on disruption of the blood-brain barrier and alteration of the blood-brain immune axis. Her previous work proposed that non-neuronal brain cells, in particular glia, affect the course of PD. Her work has been featured in online articles, radio interviews and podcasts.