About
“Right now there is no cure for Alzheimer's. Research is not straight forward, so you have to be stubborn. You always find ways to revise your hypothesis, to move forward to identify important outcomes. At UCLA School of Nursing we have significantly progressed in the field, but there's still so much to do. That's exciting.”
Dr. Sokolow has a broad background in pharmacology and neurobiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), with specific training and expertise in molecular biology, clinical pharmacy and pharmacogenomics with emphasis in analyzing secondary data of drug response in the treatment of cognitive symptoms of AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Her research program examines two main area of Alzheimer's Disease (AD): 1) the molecular pathogenesis of AD in surviving nerve terminals and 2) the influence of genetics on the response to therapy in AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Her current research project focuses on the discovery of genetic polymorphisms associated with response to AD medications, such as donepezil and other acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Her early studies aimed at understanding the molecular repercussion of intrasynaptic amyloid-beta buildup in the development of AD. This includes studies investigating the role of intrasynaptic amyloid-beta and tau on glutamate and calcium signaling pathways (e.g. sodium-calcium exchange).
Areas of Scholarly Expertise and Interest
Alzheimer's disease, genetics, pharmacogenomics, pharmacology and therapeutics, biomarkers, calcium signaling pathways
Faculty Research and Clinical Expertise
Research: Alzheimer's disease, genetics, pharmacogenomics, biomarkers, calcium signaling pathways
Clinical: clinical pharmacy, pharmacovigilance and pharmacosurveillance
Professional Activities
1994-2004 Member, National Board of Pharmacy, Belgium 1997-2004 Consultant, Belgian Ministry of Public Health, Center of Drug Monitoring, Brussels, Belgium 2003 Member, Biophysical Society 2004 Remote reviewer, Journal of Clinical Investigation 2004 Remote reviewer, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium 2005 International Doping Control Officer, International Doping Tests & Management (IDTM) 2007 Member, Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2009 Member, Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research and Treatment (ISTAART) 2009 Member, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) 2009 Alzheimer's association peer reviewer 2013 Member, UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute 2014 Member, Los Angeles Biomedical Research InstituteEducation
University of Mons-Hainaut, Mons, Belgium, BSc, 1991, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Free University of Brussels, Belgium, MSc, 1994, Pharmacy
Free University of Brussels, Belgium, MSc, 2003, Health Sciences - Pharmaceutical Sciences
Free University of Brussels, Belgium, PhD, 2004, Biomedical Sciences
Honors and Awards
1991 Awarded as the most Promising Student in the B. Sc. Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Mons-Hainaut, Belgium 1994 Upjohn Award for the Most Promising Student in the M. Sc. program of Pharmacy degree, Free University of Brussels, School of Pharmacy, Belgium 1997 Doctorate Fellowship in recognition of the undergraduate outstanding merit, Free University of Brussels, Research committee, Belgium 2003 Fellowship award, International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology (IFCN), San Francisco, CA, USA 2009 Travel award, Alzheimer's Association, International Conference on Alzheimer's disease, Vienna, Austria 2011 Travel award, Alzheimer's Association, International Conference on Alzheimer's disease, Paris, France 2013 Turken Researcher Award, Mary Easton’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at UCLA, Neurology Department, David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USAPublications
S. Sokolow, K. Henkins, T. Bilousova, B. Gonzalez, H.V. Vinters, C.A. Miller, L.B. Cornwell, W. Poon, K.H. Gylys. Intrasynaptic C-terminal truncated tau is released from cortical synapses in Alzheimer’s disease. J Neurochem., 133(3) (2015) 368-79.
L. Apostolova, K.S. Hwang, D. Elashoff, O. Kohannim, E.H. Teng, S. Sokolow, C.R. Jack Jr, W. Jagust, L. Shaw, J.J.Q. Trojanowski, M.W. Weiner, P.M. Thompson, For the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging I. Presence of brain amyloidosis can be ascertained from cognitive, imaging and peripheral blood protein measures. Neurology, 84 (2015) 729-37.
J. Jin, A.J. Lao, M. Katsura, A. Caputo, F. E. Schweizer, S. Sokolow. Involvement of the Sodium-Calcium exchanger 3 (NCX3) in ziram-induced calcium dysregulation and toxicity. Neurotoxicology. 45C (2014), 56-66.
22. §P. Molinaro, M. Cataldi, O. Cuomo, D. Viggiano, G. Pignatero, R. Sirabella, A. Secondo, F. Boscia, A. Pannaccione, A. Scorziello, S. Sokolow, A. Herchuelz, G. Di Renzo and L. Annunziato. Genetically modified mice as a strategy to unravel the role played by the Na(+)/Ca (2+) exchanger in brain ischemia and in spatial learning and memory deficits. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2013;961:213-22.
F. Hohendanner, S. Ljubojević, N. MacQuaide, M. Sacherer, S. Sedej, L. Biesmans, P. Wakula, D. Platzer, S. Sokolow, A. Herchuelz, G. Antoons, K. Sipido, B. Pieske and F. R. Heinzel. Intracellular Dyssynchrony of Diastolic Cytosolic [Ca2+] Decay in Ventricular Cardiomyocytes in Cardiac Remodeling and Human Heart Failure. Circulation Research (2013);113(5):527-38.
F. Boscia, C. D'Avanzo, A. Pannaccione, A. Secondo, A. Casamassa, L. Formisano, N. Guida, S. Sokolow, A. Herchuelz,L. Annunziato, Silencing or knocking out the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger-3 (NCX3) impairs oligodendrocyte differentiation. Cell Death Differ, 19 (2012) 562-572. doi: 10.1038/cdd.2011.125. Erratum in: Cell Death Differ. 2013 Jan;20(1):184.
A. Pannaccione, A. Secondo, P. Molinaro, C. D'Avanzo, M. Cantile, A. Esposito, F. Boscia, A. Scorziello, R. Sirabella, S. Sokolow, A. Herchuelz, G. Di Renzo, L. Annunziato. A New Concept: Aβ1–42 Generates a Hyperfunctional Proteolytic NCX3 Fragment That Delays Caspase-12 Activation and Neuronal Death. J Neurosci, 32 (2012) 10609-10617. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6429-11.2012. Erratum in: J Neurosci. 2012 Dec 12; 32(50):18269.
K. M. Henkins, S. Sokolow, C. A. Miller, H. V. Vinters, W. Poon, L. B. Cornwell, T. Saing, K. H. Gylys. Extensive p-tau pathology and SDS-stable p-tau oligomers in Alzheimer's cortical synapses. Brain Pathology 22 (2012) 826-833.
S. Sokolow, K. M. Henkins, T. Bilousova, C. A. Miller, H. V. Vinters, W. Poon, G. M. Cole, K. H. Gylys. AD synapses contain abundant Abeta monomer and multiple soluble oligomers, including a 56-kDa assembly. Neurobiol Aging 33 (2012) 1545-1555.
Sokolow S, Henkins KM, Williams IA, Vinters HV, Schmid I, Cole GM, Gylys KH. (2012).Isolation of synaptic terminals from Alzheimer's disease cortex. Cytometry A., 81, 248-54.
Ringman JM, Schulman H, Becker C, Jones T, Bai Y, Immermann F, Cole G, Sokolow S, Gylys K, Geschwind DH, Cummings JL, Wan HI. (2012). Proteomic changes in cerebrospinal fluid of presymptomatic and affected persons carrying familial Alzheimer disease mutations. Archives of Neurology, 69, 96-104.
Sokolow S, Luu SH, Nandy K, Miller CA, Vinters HV, Poon WW, Gylys KH. (2012). Preferential accumulation of amyloid-beta in presynaptic glutamatergic terminals (VGluT1 and VGluT2) in Alzheimer's disease cortex. Neurobiology of Disease, 45, 381-7.
A. Verwey, W. M. Van der Flier, K. Blennow, C. Clark, S. Sokolow, P. P. De Deyn, D. Galasko, H.J. Hampel, T. Hartmann, E. Kapaki, L. Lannfelt, P. D. Mehta, L. Parnetti, A. Petzold, T. Pirttila, L. Saleh, A. Skinningsrud, J. Van Swieten, M. M. Verbeek, J. Wiltfang, S. G. Younkin, P. Scheltens, and R. A. Blankenstein. A worldwide multicenter comparison of assays for CSF biomarkers in Alzheimer disease. Ann Clin Biochem.; 46(Pt 3):235-40, 2009.
L. Cross, B. P. Meloni, A. J. Bakker, S. Sokolow, A.Herchuelz, S. Schurmans, N. W. Knuckey. Neuronal injury in NCX3 knockout mice following permanent focal cerebral ischemia and in NCX3 knockout cortical neuronal cultures following oxygen-glucose deprivation and glutamate exposure (2009). J Exp Stroke Transl Med 2(1): 3-9.
J. Jeffs, B. P. Meloni, S. Sokolow, A. Herschuelz, S. Schurmans and N. W. Knuckey (2008). NCX3 knockout mice exhibit increased hippocampal CA1 and CA2 neuronal damage compared to wild-type mice following global cerebral ischemia. Exp Neurol. 210 (1), 268-273.
M. Ringman, S. G. Younkin, D. Pratico, W. Seltzer, G. M. Cole, D. H. Geschwind, Y. Rodriguez, B. Schaffer, J. Fein, S. Sokolow, E. R. Rosario, K. H. Gylys, A. Varpetian, L. D. Medina, J.L. Cummings (2008). Biochemical Markers in Persons with Pre-Clinical Familial Alzheimer's Disease. Neurology. 8;71(2):85-92.
Fein, S. Sokolow, C. A. Miller, H. V. Vinters, F. Yang, G. M. Cole, K. H. Gylys (2008). Co-localization of amyloid beta and tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease synaptosomes. Am. J. Pathol. 172(6):1683-92.
Molinaro, O. Cuomo, G. Pignataro, F. Boscia, R. Sirabella, A. Pannaccione, A. Secondo, A. Scorziello, A. Adornetto, R. Gala, S. Sokolow, A. Herchuelz, S. Schurmans, G. Di Renzo, L. Annunziato (2008). Targeted Disruption of Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger 3 (NCX3) gene leads to a worsening of ischemic brain damage. J. Neurosci. 28(5), 1179-84.
Wehling-Henricks*, S. Sokolow*, J. J. Lee, K. H. Myung, A. Villalta and J. G. Tidball (2008). Major basic protein-1 promotes fibrosis of dystrophic muscle and attenuates the cellular immune response in muscular dystrophy. Hum. Mol. Genet. 17(15):2280-92.* Authors contributing equally to the investigation.
P Philippeau, M. Manto, S. Sokolow, M. A. Laute J. P Brion, M. Pandolfo and R. Pochet (2005). Recent advances in transgenic models of ALS - Electrophysiological, morphological and neurochemical characterization of hSOD-1 G93A transgenic rats. Recent Research in Developmental Physiology, 3:13-31.