MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Kathryn J. Jones, PhD, an internationally known neuroscience researcher, has been named director of the Neuroscience Institute, Loyola University Chicago.
The Neuroscience Institute at Loyola focuses on trauma to and degenerative diseases of the nervous system. It is supported by Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine.
"I look forward to the energy and leadership she will bring to this important institute," said Stritch Dean Dr. John M. Lee.
Jones' main research focus is on the potential of hormones such as estrogen and testosterone to repair damage in patients with peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries. She also is doing research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). Her work has been continually funded since the 1980s by the National Institutes of Health, Veterans Administration, American Paralysis Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Les Turner ALS Foundation. Her research is internationally recognized, and her studies have been published in top neuroscience journals.
Jones received her PhD from the University of Illinois at the Medical Center and did her postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University. She came to Loyola in 1994, and is a professor in the departments of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, and Otolaryngology. Jones has a joint appointment at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, where she is a research career scientist.
Jones noted that Loyola has a rich tradition in basic neuroscience research at both the medical school in Maywood and at the lakeshore campus in Chicago. Loyola also has a highly regarded graduate program in the neurosciences. "We hope to capitalize on those accomplishments as we look to partner with the clinical neurosciences in developing outstanding translational neuroscience research at Loyola," she said. "Our goal is to discover new neurotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of neurological trauma and disease."
Jones lives in River Forest with her husband, Dr. Donald Soucek, and their daughter, Sydney.
Loyola University Health System (LUHS) is a member of Trinity Health. Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, LUHS is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and more than 30 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 569-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-licensed-bed community hospital, the Professional Office Building housing 150 private practice clinics, the Adult Day Care, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness, Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care and the Loyola Cancer Care & Research at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center at Melrose Park.