Jessica Plavicki

About

Jessica S. Plavicki is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University. Her research focuses on cardiac, cardiovascular, neuroscience, neurovascular diseases, toxicology, vascular biology, and zebrafish models. She has contributed to understanding the cellular complexity of zebrafish gonads, the effects of environmental pollutants such as dioxins on development, and the molecular mechanisms underlying neural connectivity and heart malformation. Her work often involves assessing the impact of toxic substances on embryonic development and vascular formation, utilizing zebrafish as a model organism. Dr. Plavicki holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a BA from the University of Texas at Austin. She has received numerous awards for her research, mentoring, and teaching, including the NIH Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award and the Brown University Graduate School Faculty Award for Advising & Mentoring. Her contributions extend to advancing understanding in developmental biology, toxicology, and environmental health, with a particular emphasis on the molecular pathways affected by environmental toxins.

Research topics

• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Cell biology
• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Chemistry

Selected publications

• Proper modulation of AHR signaling is necessary for establishing neural connectivity and oligodendrocyte precursor cell development in the embryonic zebrafish brain

  Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience · 2022 · 19 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  function also impaired nascent network development, but did not affect gross brain or ventricular morphology. To determine whether neural AHR activation was sufficient to disrupt connectivity, we used the Gal4/UAS system to express a constitutively active AHR specifically in differentiated neurons and observed disruptions only in the cerebellum; thus, suggesting that the phenotypes resulting from global AHR activation likely involve multiple cell types. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found…

  PublisherDOI

• Environmentally relevant uptake, elimination, and metabolic changes following early embryonic exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in zebrafish

  Chemosphere · 2022 · 17 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that induce toxicity by binding to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand activated transcription factor. The zebrafish model has been used to define the developmental toxicity observed following exposure to exogenous AHR ligands such as the potent agonist 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin, TCDD). While the model has successfully identified cellular targets of TCDD and molecular mechanisms mediating TCDD-…

  PublisherDOI

• Metabolomic changes following GenX and PFBS exposure in developing zebrafish

  Aquatic Toxicology · 2024-04-03 · 11 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assessing CaMPARI as new approach methodology for evaluating neurotoxicity

  NeuroToxicology · 2023-05-25 · 11 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin exposure disrupts development of the visceral and ocular vasculature

  Aquatic Toxicology · 2021-02-24 · 11 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Hemorrhage and Thrombosis in Extracorporeal Life Support

  NIH · $42.3M · 2022–2025

• Ahr2 activation and sox9b function in forebrain and cerebral vascular development

  NIH · $724k · 2017–2020

• Ahr2 activation and sox9b function in forebrain and cerebral vascular development

  NIH · $198k · 2014–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Nathan R. Martin

  Brown University

  33 shared

• Katherine E. Manz

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  25 shared

• Kurt D. Pennell

  Providence College

  23 shared

• Michelle E. Kossack

  John Brown University

  22 shared

• Ratna Patel

  Providence College

  21 shared

• Layra G. Cintrón-Rivera

  21 shared

• Nicole Burns

  University of Colorado Denver

  17 shared

• Manuel Camarillo

  Brown University

  16 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Neuroscience

  University of Wisconsin Madison

  2009

• B.A., Psychology

  University of Texas at Austin

  2000

Awards & honors

• Graduate School Faculty Award for Advising & Mentoring, Brow…
• New-Career Scientist Award, Reproductive & Developmental Spe…
• Paper of the Year Award, Northeast Chapter of the Society of…
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Outstand…
• Named the Manning Assistant Professor of Pathology and Labor…

Similar researchers at Brown University

• Karen Furieh-148
• Rena Wingh-146
• Lawrence Priceh-132