Jason Plemel, PhD

Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Medicine Dept

Personal Website: https://amsrguofa.ca/

Contact Overview Publications

Contact

Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Medicine Dept

Email: jrplemel@ualberta.ca
Address: 5-64 (Office) HMRC - MSB/WMC Link
11207 - 87 Ave NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2S2

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Multiple Sclerosis Microglia Myelin oligodendrocyte

About

Dr. Jason Plemel is a Canada Research Chair in Glial Neuroimmunology and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology at the University of Alberta. His laboratory investigates microglia and the role they play during regeneration and injury to white matter in multiple sclerosis (MS). His lab is making strides to understand how these microglia are both critical for white matter regeneration, but also contributing to white matter injury. They are working to understand the mechanisms of white matter degeneration, as well as the complex immune response following white matter injury.

Research

Using innovative techniques and experimental designs, my laboratory aims to explore white matter injury and repair in Multiple Sclerosis. We aim to better understand the mechanisms of cell death and white matter degeneration, as well as the complex immune response following white matter injury. These studies will guide the complementary objective of mitigating inflammatory injury and improving white matter .

Featured Publications

Age-impaired remyelination is associated with dysregulated microglial transitions.

Zia S, Traetta ME, Baaklini CS, Hammond BP, John RK, Souter KM, Meijns N, Afun LKA, Panda S, González Ibáñez F, Burr MK, Dhupia E, Rathod AM, Faria AO, Zaveri D, Challa S, Hahn E, Manesh SB, Lee KV, Ho MFS, Friedman TN, Maguire AD, Pang A, Farkas O, Szulc B, Tenorio L, Vyas D, La Caprara OR, Tetzlaff W, Sinha S, Duncan GJ, Voronova A, Kerr BJ, Tremblay ME, Biernaskie J, Schenk G, Plemel JR

Nature communications. 2025 November; 10.1038/s41467-025-64906-w

A focus on the normal-appearing white and gray matter within the multiple sclerosis brain: a link to smoldering progression.

Muñoz González G, T Hart BA, Bugiani M, Plemel JR, Schenk GJ, Kooij G, Luchicchi A

Acta neuropathologica. 2025 August; 10.1007/s00401-025-02923-1

CSF1R ligands promote microglial proliferation but are not the sole regulators of developmental microglial proliferation.

Hammond BP, Zia S, Hahn E, Kapustina M, Lange T, Friesen S, Manek R, Lee KV, Castellanos-Molina A, Bretheau F, Cembrowski MS, Kerr BJ, Lacroix S, Plemel JR

Development (Cambridge, England). 2025 June; 10.1242/dev.204610

Reawakening inflammation in the chronically injured spinal cord using lipopolysaccharide induces diverse microglial states.

John RK, Vogel SP, Zia S, Lee KV, Nguyen AT, Torres-Espin A, Fenrich KK, Ng C, Schmidt EKA, Vavrek R, Raposo PJF, Smith K, Fouad K, Plemel JR

Journal of neuroinflammation. 2025 February; 10.1186/s12974-025-03379-6

Microglia and Multiple Sclerosis.

Hammond BP, Panda SP, Kaushik DK, Plemel JR

Advances in neurobiology. 2024 January; 10.1007/978-3-031-55529-9_25

Microglia promote remyelination independent of their role in clearing myelin debris.

Baaklini CS, Ho MFS, Lange T, Hammond BP, Panda SP, Zirngibl M, Zia S, Himmelsbach K, Rana H, Phillips B, Antoszko D, Ibanga J, Lopez M, Lee KV, Keough MB, Caprariello AV, Kerr BJ, Plemel JR

Cell reports. 2023 December; 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113574

Single-cell microglial transcriptomics during demyelination defines a microglial state required for lytic carcass clearance.

Zia S, Hammond BP, Martin Zirngibl, Sizov A, Baaklini CS, Panda SP, Ho MFS, Lee KV, Mainali A, Burr MK, Williams S, Caprariello AV, Power C, Simmen T, Kerr BJ, Jason R Plemel

Molecular neurodegeneration. 2022 December; 10.1186/s13024-022-00584-2

Towards a definition of microglia heterogeneity

Luke M. Healy, Sameera Zia, Jason R. Plemel

Communications Biology. 2022 October; 10.1038/s42003-022-04081-6

Oligodendrocyte death and myelin loss in the cuprizone model: an updated overview of the intrinsic and extrinsic causes of cuprizone demyelination

Zirngibl M., Assinck P., Sizov A., Caprariello A.V., Plemel J.R.

Molecular Neurodegeneration. 2022 May; 17 (1) 10.1186/s13024-022-00538-8

Oligodendrocyte death and myelin loss in the cuprizone model: an updated overview of the intrinsic and extrinsic causes of cuprizone demyelination.

Zirngibl M, Assinck P, Sizov A, Caprariello AV, Plemel JR

Molecular neurodegeneration. 2022 May; 10.1186/s13024-022-00538-8

Central nervous system macrophages in progressive multiple sclerosis: relationship to neurodegeneration and therapeutics

Kamma E., Lasisi W., Libner C., Ng H.S., Plemel J.R.

Journal of Neuroinflammation. 2022 February; 19 (1) 10.1186/s12974-022-02408-y

Regulation of microglia population dynamics throughout development, health, and disease

Hammond B.P., Manek R., Kerr B.J., Macauley M.S., Plemel J.R.

Glia. 2021 December; 69 (12):2771-2797 10.1002/glia.24047

Regulation of microglia population dynamics throughout development, health, and disease

Hammond B.P., Manek R., Kerr B.J., Macauley M.S., Plemel J.R.

GLIA. 2021 January; 10.1002/glia.24047

Microglia Diversity in Health and Multiple Sclerosis

Zia S., Rawji K.S., Michaels N.J., Burr M., Kerr B.J., Healy L.M., Plemel J.R.

Frontiers in Immunology. 2020 November; 11 10.3389/fimmu.2020.588021

Microglia response following acute demyelination is heterogeneous and limits infiltrating macrophage dispersion

Jason R. Plemel, Jo Anne Stratton, Nathan J. Michaels, Khalil S. Rawji, Eric Zhang, Sarthak Sinha, Charbel S. Baaklini, Yifei Dong, Madelene Ho, Kevin Thorburn, Timothy N. Friedman, Sana Jawad, Claudia Silva, Andrew V. Caprariello, Vahid Hoghooghi, Julie Yue, Arzina Jaffer, Kelly Lee, Bradley J. Kerr, Raj Midha, Peter K. Stys, Jeff Biernaskie, V. Wee Yong

Science Advances. 2020 January; 10.1126/sciadv.aay6324

View additional publications