Rachel Weitzman was an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Biochemistry (with Masters in Chemistry) and minoring in Hispanic studies. Since high school, she has volunteered in an ALS and Alzheimer's disease laboratory at UCLA, working with Dr. Milan Fiala to identify inflammatory cells in ALS patients' spinal cords that are responsible for the demise of motor neurons. Rachel also enjoys playing tennis, dancing ballet, volunteering at Puentes de Salud, and raising awareness about global health. She is from Los Angeles, California. Rachel graduated summa cum laude in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry and a Master of Science in Chemistry, and she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She went on to pursue her M.D. at Harvard Medical School.

Publications

Tariq, A.*, J. Lin*, M.E. Jackrel*, C.D. Hesketh, P.J. Carman, K.L. Mack, R. Weitzman, C. Gambogi, O.A. Hernandez Murillo, E.A. Sweeny, E. Gurpinar, A.L. Yokom, S.N. Gates, K. Yee, S. Sudesh, J. Stillman, A.N. Rizo, D.R. Southworth, and J. Shorter. (2019). Mining disaggregase sequence space to safely counter TDP-43, FUS, and alpha-synuclein proteotoxicity. Cell Rep. 28(8):2080–2095. pdf file link (*Co-first author).

Jackrel, M.E., A. Tariq, K. Yee, R. Weitzman, and J. Shorter. (2014). Isolating potentiated Hsp104 variants using yeast proteinopathy models. J. Vis. Exp. 93:e52089 doi:10.3791/52089. pdf file link

Weitzman, R. (2014). Reengineering Hsp104 to Disaggregate Proteins Involved in Neurodegenerative Disease. YouTube. YouTube, 23rd April, 2014. Web. link

Fiala, M., M.T. Mizwicki, R. Weitzman, L. Magpantay, and N. Nishimoto. (2013). Tocilizumab infusion therapy normalizes inflammation in sporadic ALS patients. Am. J. Neurodegener. Dis. 2(2): 129-139. pdf file link

Mizwicki, M.T., G. Liu, M. Fiala, L. Magpantay, J. Sayre, A. Siani, M. Mahanian, R. Weitzman, E. Hayden, M.J. Rosenthal, I. Nemere, J. Ringman, and D.B. Teplow. (2013). 1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 and Resolvin D1 Retune the Balance between Amyloid-β Phagocytosis and Inflammation in Alzheimer's Disease Patients. J. Alzheimers Dis. 34(1):155-70. pdf file link

Fiala, M., M. Mahanian, M. Rosenthal, M.T. Mizwicki, E. Tse, T. Cho, J. Sayre, R. Weitzman, and V. Porter. (2011). MGAT3 mRNA: A Biomarker for Prognosis and Therapy of Alzheimer's Disease by Vitamin D and Curcuminoids. J. Alzheimers Dis. 25(1):135-44. pdf file link

Fiala, M., M. Chattopadhay, A. La Cava, E. Tse, G. Liu, E. Lourenco, A. Eskin, P.T. Liu, L. Magpantay, S. Tse, M. Mahanian, R. Weitzman, J. Tong, C. Nguyen, T. Cho, P. Koo, J. Sayre, O. Martinez-Maza, M.J. Rosenthal, and M. Wiedau-Pazos. (2010). IL-17A Is Increased in the Serum and in Spinal Cord CD8 and Mast Cells of ALS Patients. J. Neuroinflammation. 7: 76. pdf file link