Principal Investigator

Erzsebet M Szatmari, PhD

<div class="col-12 col-sm-12 col-md-3 col-xl-2" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://anatomy-cellbiology.ecu.edu/neuronal-signaling-lab/aniyaa-douglas/"><span class="ecu-h5"><strong>Aniyaa Douglas</strong></span></a> <strong>Undergraduate Student</strong></div> Dr. Szatmari started her research program at ECU in 2018 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, focusing on signaling pathways involved in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. In February of 2026, Dr. Szatmari joined the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology at Brody School of Medicine as a tenured Associate Professor. Prior joining ECU, she worked as a Research Scientist II at Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (2012-2018), where her work was supported by a grant from the Bright Focus Foundation.

Dr. Szatmari’s early postgraduate training was in neuroprotection against excitotoxicity at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (2003-2006), where she identified the role of GSK-3β in excitotoxicity and the neuroprotective role of the brain-specific scaffolding protein, called KSR-1. In 2007, Dr. Szatmari joined the laboratory of Dr. Ryohei Yasuda at Duke University Medical Center as a postdoctoral research associate. While at Duke University, Dr. Szatmari identified the role of the brain-specific protein, ADAP1/Centaurin alpha-1, in neuronal dysfunction associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Her work at Duke University was supported by a Ruth K. Broad Award and an individual NRSA (F32) fellowship.

Dr. Szatmari completed her PhD studies in Cell Biology at Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania and Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary in 2003, studying the signaling mechanisms that control permeability of the blood-brain barrier.

Please visit pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov to view publications.