MaKayla Cox is a current 1st year MD/PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. She is the creator and author of The Cortex, a site focused on providing in depth coverage on various topics in science and medicine. 

Cox received her bachelors of science in biochemistry with minors in Spanish and public health with honors at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). While studying at UIS, Cox worked for Dr. Erin and Kevin Hascup at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in the department of neuroscience and pharmacology researching the role of glutamate in Alzheimer’s Disease. While at SIU, Cox received the Hemal Vakharia Memorial award which recognizes the contributions of outstanding students to research efforts at the school of medicine. 

Cox also worked for Dr. John Cirrito as an intern at Washington University School of Medicine in neurology researching the role of stress and circadian rhythm in Alzheimer’s Disease. Following her work in academia, Cox worked at Pfizer for 8 months as a bioassay scientist where she worked on various gene therapies. 

MaKayla was accepted to the University of Kentucky’s MD/PhD program in December of 2022. She is currently in her first laboratory rotation studying neuroinflammation in the context of Alzheimer’s Disease. She plans to pursue neurosurgery. 

She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her two dogs, Calypso and Calliope.  

Disclosures

This is the personal blog of MaKayla Cox.