Biography

Research interests: Neurodegenerative diseases, proteinopathies, molecular neuroscience

Clinical interests: Neurology

Moriah graduated from Carleton College in 2017 with a major in Biology and minors in Neuroscience and Biochemistry. After working at OHSU as a research assistant for 2 years, she matriculated into the OHSU MD/PhD program in 2019. She transitioned from medical school to my PhD in 2021 and joined the Unni Lab where her dissertation project is to investigate the role of alpha-synuclein in melanoma. Although alpha-synuclein is well-recognized to aggregate in neurological disorders like Parkinson’s Disease, it is also highly expressed by melanoma cells for unclear reasons. Interestingly, patients with Parkinson’s Disease and their first-degree relatives are at increased risk of developing melanoma and melanoma patients are at increased risk of Parkinson’s Disease. She hypothesizes that melanoma upregulates alpha-synuclein expression to improve DNA repair function and this contributes to protected melanoma growth and metastasis. She hopes to match into a research-focused neurology residency program when she graduates from the MD/PhD program in 2027. Outside of science, she enjoys exploring restaurants in Portland, training at her boxing gym, going to Portland Thorns games, and hiking with her partner and dog.

Selected publications

Moriah R. Arnold, Marie-France Langelier, Jessica Gartrell, Ilsa T. Kirby, Daniel J. Sanderson, Daniel S. Bejan, Justina Šileikytė, Sunil K. Sundalam, Shanthi Nagarajan, Parthiban Marimuthu, Anna K. Duell, Anang A. Shelat, John M. Pascal, Michael S. Cohen*(2022) Allosteric regulation of DNA binding and target residence time drive the cytotoxicity of phthalazinone-based PARP1 inhibitors. Cell Chemical Biology.

Moriah R. Arnold, David G. Coughlin, Barbara H. Brumbach, Denis S. Smirnov, Luis Concha-Marambio, Carly M. Farris, Yihua Ma, Yongya Kim, Edward N. Wilson, Jeffrey A. Kaye, Annie Hiniker, Randy L. Woltjer, Doug R. Galasko, Joseph F. Quinn*(2022) a-synuclein seed amplification in CSF and brain from patients with different brain distributions of pathological a-synuclein in the context of co-pathology and non-LBD diagnoses. Annals of Neurology.

Gregory D. Scott*, Moriah R Arnold, Thomas G. Beach, Christopher H. Gibbons, Anumantha G. Kanthasamy, Russell M. Lebovitz, Afina W. Lemstra, et al. (2022) Fluid and tissue biomarkers of Lewy body dementia: report of an LBDA symposium. Frontiers Neurology.

Moriah R. Arnold, Claire L. Thallon, Joshua A. Pitkofsky, Sarah H. Meerts* (2019). Sexual Experience Confers Resilience to Restraint Stress in Female Rats. Hormones and Behavior.

Ilsa T. Kirby, Ana Kojic, Moriah R. Arnold, Ann-Gerd Thorsell, Tobias Karlberg, Anke Vermehren-Schmaedick, Raashi Sreenivasan, Carsten Schultz, Herwig Schuler, and Michael S. Cohen* (2018). A potent and selective PARP11 inhibitor suggests coupling between protein stability and catalytic activity. Cell Chemical Biology.

Brittany L. Forte, Lauren M. Slosky, Hong Zhang, Moriah R. Arnold, William D. Staatz, Merideth Hay, Tally M. Largent-Milnes, Todd W. Vanderah* (2016). Angiotensin-(1-7) as an Antinociceptive Agent in Cancer-Induced Bone Pain. Pain.

Moriah R. Arnold (2016) Matrix metalloproteinase dysregulation during various stages of neuronal development leads to Autism Spectrum Disorder phenotypes via integrin α/β and BDNF signaling pathways. Department of Biology, Carleton College, Senior Dissertation Thesis.