Charisse Winston, Ph.D.

Dr. Winston is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) in the Keck School of Medicine. She joined the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience in August 2023 after completing her post-doctoral training and MOSAIC K99 fellowship at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She received her Bachelor’s in Biochemistry from the University of Virginia, her Master’s in Biochemistry, and her PhD in Neuroscience from Georgetown University.

Dr. Charisse Winston is a translational neuroscientist interested in advancing the field of biofluid-based extracellular vesicles (EV) as biomarkers for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related dementias. The overall goal of Dr. Winston’s research is to advance the field of AD diagnostics and develop novel EV-based tools for ethnically diverse and underserved patient groups, specifically Black Americans and the Diaspora. Furthermore, Dr. Winston’s research aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind the physiological and pathogenic roles of EVs in both healthy aging and disease.

As a CLEAR-AD Diversity Scholar, Dr. Winston seeks to extend her previous EV research in blood to explore the biomarker potential of saliva EVs as early diagnostic tools for AD in multi-ethnic populations.