Kelly L. Stauch, PhD, is an instructor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Stauch studies the role of mitochondria -- cell's energy generators -- in aging and age-related neurodegenerative disease, including Parkinson's disease (PD).

Dr. Stauch obtained her BS from Iowa State University and her PhD from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center. She continued her training as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Howard Fox, MD, PhD, in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Dr. Stauch is currently studying the consequences of mitochondria not working as they should in the brain, in particular, near synapses, the points of contact between brain cells. The failure of mitochondria to function properly stems from the deficiency in PINK1 and parkin, two proteins implicated in PD. She aims to uncover how the failure of mitochondria located in synapses to supply energy contributes to Parkinson's disease.