Draft:Jenny R. Lenkowski

Introduction
Dr. Jenny Lenkowski is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. She is known specifically for her research in developmental neurobiology, and she teaches several courses in molecular biology, biochemistry, and biological sciences at Goucher College. Her research, funded by a grant from the National Eye Institute, focuses on the TGFB signaling pathway and its role in neuronal development and regeneration, with a specific emphasis on studies involving zebrafish. Dr. Lenkowski investigates how the zebrafish retina both develops and regenerates after exposure to intense light injury.

At Goucher College, Dr. Jenny Lenkowski teaches introductory biology, cell biology, developmental biology, and neurobiology. In addition to her roles at Goucher College, she works with the Society for Developmental Biology and the Association for Women in Science.

Early Life and Education
Dr. Lenkowski grew up in New Hampshire. She graduated from Mount Anthony Union High School in 1997, where she then went to Brown University for undergrad. During her time at Brown she received a bachelor’s degree in Biology. Later, she completed her PhD in biology at Tufts in 2010, and her postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan, researching how the vertebrate retina regenerates using zebrafish.

Academic Career
Dr. Lenkowski is currently an associate professor and researcher at Goucher College in Baltimore. Before coming to Goucher, she taught in China and worked as a research technician at Tufts Medical School. She then went on and earned her Ph.D. in biology from Tufts University in 2010. At the University of Michigan, she earned a post-doctoral degree in which she studied how fish eyes can regrow, using zebrafish. Her work at Goucher focuses on how certain signals in the body may affect how nerves grow and heal in zebrafish. She has been awarded a three-year term as the Lilian Welsh endowed professorship in honor of Dr. Lilian Welsh who was an physician and full professor at Baltimore Women's College, later Goucher College.

Publications
1. Cresiski R, Lenkowski JR. Using zebrafish in a developmental biology lab course to explore interactions between development and the environment.CourseSource. 2019 August. doi: 10.24918/cs.2020.20.

2. Lenkowski JR, Raymond PA. Müller glia: Stem cells for generation and regeneration of retinal neurons in teleost fish. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2014 May;40:94-123. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2013.12.007. Epub 2014 Jan 8. Review. PubMed PMID: 24412518; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3999222.

3. Lenkowski JR, Qin Z, Sifuentes CJ, Thummel R, Soto CM, Moens CB, Raymond PA. Retinal regeneration in adult zebrafish requires regulation of TGFβ signaling. Glia. 2013 Oct;61(10):1687-97. doi: 10.1002/glia.22549. Epub 2013 Aug 5. PubMed PMID: 23918319; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4127981.

4. Lenkowski JR, McLaughlin KA. Acute atrazine exposure disrupts matrix metalloproteinases and retinoid signaling during organ morphogenesis in Xenopus laevis. J Appl Toxicol. 2010 Aug;30(6):582-9. doi: 10.1002/jat.1529. PubMed PMID: 20809547.

5. Lenkowski JR, Sanchez-Bravo G, McLaughlin KA. Low concentrations of atrazine, glyphosate, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and triadimefon exposures have diverse effects on Xenopus laevis organ morphogenesis. J Environ Sci (China). 2010;22(9):1305-8. doi: 10.1016/s1001-0742(09)60254-0. PubMed PMID: 21174958.

6. Lenkowski JR, Reed JM, Deininger L, McLaughlin KA. Perturbation of organogenesis by the herbicide atrazine in the amphibian Xenopus laevis.Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Feb;116(2):223-30. doi: 10.1289/ehp.10742. PubMed PMID: 18288322; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2235211.

7. Rubin BS, Lenkowski JR, Schaeberle CM, Vandenberg LN, Ronsheim PM, Soto AM. Evidence of altered brain sexual differentiation in mice exposed perinatally to low, environmentally relevant levels of bisphenol A.Endocrinology. 2006 Aug;147(8):3681-91. doi: 10.1210/en.2006-0189. Epub 2006 May 4. PubMed PMID: 16675520.

Awards and Honors
National Institutes of Health AREA Award “Regulation of the cell cycle and differentiation in the vertebrate retina by TGFβ signaling” (9/01/16 – 8/31/19)

Talks and Presentations
Poster presentations (undergraduate research students indicated with an asterisk):

Meir-Levi, D.* and J.R. Lenkowski (2014) Examining the cell cycle in retina development and regeneration in zebrafish. Landmark Research Conference, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA. (2015) Understanding the effects of aging on the regenerative capacity of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) retina. Landmark Research Conference, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD.

Brandt, K.* and J.R. Lenkowski (2015) Studying the effects of TGFβ signaling during retinal development in the embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio). Landmark Research Conference, Goucher College, & Mid-Atlantic Regional Zebrafish Meeting, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD.

Lenkowski, J.R. (2016) Redesigning an upper-level developmental biology lab course to incorporate zebrafish and morphometric analysis. Mid-Atlantic Society for Developmental Biology Meeting, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Brandt, K.*, G. Cooper*, M. Downey*, E. Ferreira*, M. Koropsak*, D. Meir-Levi*, J.R. Lenkowski (2016) Regulation of the cell cycle and cell fate by TGFβ signaling in larval and adult zebrafish. The Allied Genetics Conference, Orlando, FL.

Koropsak, M.*, E. Ferreira*, and J.R. Lenkowski (2016) Effects of TGFβ signaling on differentiation and proliferation in developing zebrafish retina. Landmark Research Conference, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA.

Cooper, G.* and J.R. Lenkowski Evaluating the effects of TGFβ signaling on glial scarring in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) retina. (2016) Landmark Research Conference, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA and (2017) Mid-Atlantic Regional Zebrafish Meeting, Carnegie Institute, Baltimore, MD.

Hannifin, E.* and J.R. Lenkowski (2017) Visualization of p57 as a cell cycle exit marker in progenitor cells of Danio rerio. Mid-Atlantic Regional Zebrafish Meeting, Carnegie Institute, Baltimore, MD.

Vogel, S.* and J.R. Lenkowski (2017) Effect of TGFβ signaling on progenitor proliferation and Müller glia differentiation in the developing zebrafish (Danio rerio) retina. Mid-Atlantic Regional Zebrafish Meeting, Carnegie Institute, Baltimore, MD.

Community Involvement
Dr. Lenkowski volunteers with STEMnet and the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. Her role involves her being a STEM specialist in classrooms. Dr. Lenkowski has also served as an ad-hoc reviewer for several research journals.

Academic and Professional Associations

 * Society for Developmental Biology
 * Association for Women in Science
 * American Association for the Advancement of Science
 * International Zebrafish Society