Wolfgang Streit Jake Streit studies the immunological and neuroprotective functions of microglia in the diseased CNS. Professor of Neuroscience Investigator, McKnight Brain Institute Training Postdoc - Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology Ph.D. Pathology/Neuropathology. Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC B.S. College of Charleston, SC Contact phone: 352.392.3910 office: MBI L2-179 lab: MBI L2-162 email:streit@mbi.ufl.edu Microglia are non-neuronal (glial) cells distributed ubiquitously throughout the central nervous system. Like all other glial cells, their role is to support proper functioning of neurons, but microglia are also specialized in that they make up the endogenous immune system of the CNS. As such, microglial cells play key roles in most neuropathological conditions. Current research is centered on aging and neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease, as well as on the immune effector functions of microglia in brain tumors. We use a combination of histopathological and molecular/cellular approaches to study microglial cell function. Recent Publications Microglia and neuroinflammation: a pathological perspective. Streit WJ, Mrak RE, Griffin WS. J Neuroinflammation. 2004 Jul 30;1(1):14. Microglia and Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Streit WJ. J Neurosci Res. 2004 Jul 1;77(1):1-8. Progressive telomere shortening occurs in cultured rat microglia, but not astrocytes. Flanary, BE, Streit WJ. Glia 2004 45:75-88.