IRENE MUNK PEDERSEN, PHD

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Irene Munk Pedersen is an Associate Professor at the Scintillon Institute and an Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Copenhagen. Before joining Scintillon, she was an Assistant Professor at University of California, Irvine (UCI). Dr. Pedersen received her BS and MS in Molecular Biology from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark in 1999 and 2000, her Ph.D. in 2002 working in Dr. John C Reed’s lab, at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla on apoptosis resistance and her post-doctoral studies in Dr. Michael David’s lab at UCSD in La Jolla focused on cytokine regulated microRNAs (miRs). Dr. Pedersen started her own lab at UCI in Irvine in 2011 continuing her work on miRs role in stem cell reprogramming, neurological disorders (stroke and Alzheimer’s disease) tumorigenesis and viral disease. She transitioned to studying blood-brain barrier (BBB) and CNS health, disease and repair. Recently her lab has pioneered research in the development of novel stem iPSC-based 3D modeling of neurological disorders. Dr. Pedersen was the recipient of an NCI K01 and is currently funded by NINDS, NHLBI, NIEHS, NIA, DoD and the PANDAS Network. Dr. Pedersen joined the Scintillon Institute faculty as a tenured Associate Professor in September 2019.