COVID-19 Resources for Neurology Coaches... Learn More
Jenny Libien, MD PhD
Jenny Libien, MD PhD
Jenny Libien, MD PhD, is Professor of Clinical Pathology and Neurology at Downstate Health Sciences University and Chair of the Department of Pathology at Downstate and at Maimonides Medical Center. Dr. Libien earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, earned a master’s degree in Human Nutrition from Columbia University, and then MD PhD at SUNY Downstate where she worked with Dr. Todd Sacktor and Dr. Ira Kass to examine how the lack of oxygen to the brain during a stroke impaired the pathways important for making memories. After medical school graduation in 2001, Dr. Libien headed to New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia University Medical Center for Anatomic Pathology residency and Neuropathology fellowship. As an Instructor in the Department of Pathology at Columbia University Medical Center in 2005-2006, she studied the role of vitamin A in memory and neurogenesis in the laboratories of Dr. William S. Blaner and Dr. Ottavio Arancio. In 2006, Dr. Libien returned to Downstate as an Assistant Professor of Pathology. She was named the Interim Chair of Pathology in 2014 and then accepted the position of Chair of Pathology at Downstate and at Maimonides Medical Center in 2018. Dr. Libien is a principal investigator, along with Dr. Juan Marcos Alarcon, of a grant from the NIH NINDS, “REACH Pipeline Summer Research Experience for Minority and Underrepresented High School and Undergraduate Students”. REACH stands for “Research and Education in Autism for College and High School Students” and the program aims to increase access to education and careers in neuroscience and medicine. Students learn about the brain and autism, learn to generate hypotheses and then they design and execute their own experiments. Dr. Libien has been the recipient of NIH funding as a co-investigator on projects evaluating new treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease. She is the author of 29 articles and the textbook, Introduction to Statistic Methods in Pathology. Dr. Libien uses her knowledge of the pathology of Alzheimer Disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and other neurologic diseases in collaborative research with investigators at a number of universities. Dr. Libien is passionate about her work in medical education and mentoring. She is co-chair of the national Association of Pathology Chair (APC) leadership fellow (APLF) program and vice chair of APC’s Leadership Development and Diversity Committee.