Jack Browning: Seeking a deep “surface understanding” of Alzheimer’s disease

This piece was written in the spring of 2026 by GRAD 5144 (Communicating Science) student Roxanna Farzad as part of an assignment to interview a classmate and write a news story about their research.

When you think of brain diseases, perhaps you imagine the core problem is somewhere inside the brain. Jack Browning, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (GBCB) program at Virginia Tech, looks instead at the brain’s surface. He believes important discoveries of one of the deadliest brain disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, might be at the brain’s surface. 

    “We are looking at the region of the brain that people have overlooked for a long time,” Browning says. “We are looking at a disease that there is no cure for, so we have to think outside the box.” 

    Browning’s interest in neuroscience started during his undergraduate years at Virginia Tech, when he studied experimental neuroscience. He became fascinated by a particular type of brain cells, astrocytes, that regulate communication between brain cells and maintain brain health. As he transitioned into his Ph.D. program, his research narrowed to a specific population of astrocytes on the brain's surface.

    He describes his research as a pyramid. 

    “At the very base of the pyramid, I try to establish the contribution of the surface astrocytes to the glymphatic system,” he explains. The glymphatic system is known as the brain’s waste-clearance network, responsible for moving fluid through the brain and removing harmful byproducts such as toxic protein buildups.

    Previous animal studies have shown many of the toxic protein buildups associated with Alzheimer’s disease accumulate near the brain’s surface, Browning says. These findings raise the possibility that treatments have been targeting the wrong region of the brain and that scientists should also investigate the surface of the brain.

    The second layer of Browning’s research pyramid focuses on a specific channel protein that surface astrocytes express, called aquaporin-4 (AQP4), which helps regulate fluid flow and may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. 

    At the top of the pyramid, Browning’s research is focused on the impacts of lifestyle factors on the brain. His research particularly explores how social isolation might increase Alzheimer’s risk through its effects on the surface astrocytes. 

    “We know that social isolation is a trigger for Alzheimer’s disease,” he says. “My research is trying to understand why those people are at risk. If we can understand why, we can develop better therapeutics.”

    Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the most devastating brain disorders. There is currently no cure, and the average lifespan after diagnosis is about five years. In the United States alone, about seven million people live with the disease. The disease also affects millions more with its impacts on family members and caregivers and causes a major financial burden.

    What makes Browning’s work particularly promising, he says, is its focus on a part of the brain that scientists have largely overlooked. 

    “Where we are looking is a heavily impacted part of the disease,” he explains, “and if we do not study it, then we may be missing an important piece of Alzheimer’s disease.” By shifting attention to the brain’s surface, Browning’s research may offer a new direction for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s disease.