Education

• PhD, Biomedical Science with a concentration in Experimental Pathology, The University of Iowa
• MS, Pathology, The University of Iowa
• BS, Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas

Research

I graduated in May 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas. As an undergraduate, I completed a summer internship in the neuropathology lab of Dr. Thomas Beach, which sparked my interest in studying neurodegenerative tauopathies. In 2020, I earned my Master of Science in Pathology from the University of Iowa. My master’s thesis work in the lab of Dr. Marco Hefti focused on mapping the expression, phosphorylation, and splicing pattern of the tau protein in the developing human brain, as well as within induced pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids. I continued my research in Dr. Hefti’s lab for my PhD in Experimental Pathology, where I used a combination of human tissue and human stem cell-derived astrocytes to explore the mechanisms that regulate cell-type-specific tau toxicity in primary and secondary tauopathies.

After earning my PhD in May 2023, I established the Iowa Neuropathology Resource Laboratory (INRL), a biorepository dedicated to postmortem human brain tissue and histology core that serves as the sole NIH NeuroBioBank site in the Midwest. In May 2024, I assumed the position of Director of the Histology Research Laboratory (HRL), which manages all investigator-provided tissue histology for clinical archive specimens and animal models at the University of Iowa.

Current projects in my lab focus on understanding the early stages of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and on characterizing how pathology spreads from neurons to astrocytes given the poorly understood role of astrocytic tau accumulation in PSP. Additionally, I am interested in exploring how astrocyte reactivity influences isoform-specific tau degradation using various histological techniques on post-mortem human brain tissue. Our current understanding of the pathogenesis of PSP relies heavily on research from end-stage cases, mainly sourced from a single brain bank. My unique collaboration with the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office and the Iowa Donor Network provides access to post-mortem tissue from middle-aged patients who die of all causes, offering me a unique opportunity to approach my research questions from a different perspective with a distinct cohort that is scarce among existing brain banks.

Publications

• Tremblay, C., Serrano, G. E., Dunckley, N., Zhang, N., Fiock, K. L., Adler, C. H., Shill, H. A., Beach, T. G. Post-mortem cerebellar volume is not reduced in Essential Tremor.Journal of Parkinson's Disease 2023; 1-9. https://doi.org/ 10.3233/JPD-225033
   
• Betters, R. K., Luhmann, E., Gottschalk, A. C., Xu, Z., Ptak, C. P., Fiock, K. L., Radoshevich, L. C., Hefti, M. M. Characterizations of the Tau Interactome in Human Brain Reveals Isoform-Dependent Interaction with 14-3-3 Family Proteins.eNeuro 2023; 1-11. https://doi.org/ 10.1523/ENEURO.0503-22.2023
   
• Fiock, K. L. , Betters, R. K., Hefti, M. M. Thioflavin Staining and Amyloid Formation are Unique to Mixed Tauopathies. J Histology & Cytochemistry 2023; Vol. 71(2) 73–86. https://doi.org/ 10.1369/00221554231158428
   
• Fiock, K. L. , Lin, L., Colwell, S., Hefti, M. M. An 18-month-old with white matter calcifications and seizures. Brain Pathology 2022; 1-3. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/bpa.13082
   
• Liu G, Fiock KL, Levites Y, Golde TE, Hefti MM, Lee G. Fyn depletion ameliorates tau^P301L-induced neuropathology. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2020; 8(1):108. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-020-00979-6
   
• Fiock, KL, Smalley, ME, Crary, JF, Pasca, AM, Hefti MM. Increased Tau Expression Correlates with Neuronal Maturation in the Developing Human Cerebral Cortex. eNeuro. 2020; 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0058-20.2020
   
• Fiock, KL,  Smith, JD,  Crary, JF,  Hefti, MM.  β‐amyloid and tau pathology in the aging feline brain. J Comp Neurol.  2019; 1– 6. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24741
   
• Hefti, MM, Kim, SH, Bell, AJ, Betters, RK, Fiock, KL, Iida, MA, Smalley, ME, Farrell, K, Fowkes, ME, Crary, JF. Tau Phosphorylation and Aggregation in the Developing Human Brain. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2019; 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnen/nlz073