Rate My Professor Jade Kenna

Jade Kenna serves as a Lecturer and Program Coordinator for Biomedical Science in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle campus. In this role, she coordinates courses, delivers lectures, and supervises student projects in anatomy, physiology, and neuroscience. Kenna earned her BSc (Hons) from The University of Western Australia, majoring in neuroscience, anatomy, and physiology, with first class honours. She is currently completing a PhD in clinical neuroscience at the University of Western Australia, in affiliation with The Perron Institute and the School of Medicine. Her academic background equips her to contribute significantly to biomedical education and research within health sciences.

Kenna's research specializations encompass clinical neurosciences, the microbiome, and neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular emphasis on the role of the gut microbiome in neurodegeneration among individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Her interests also include neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, the human gut microbiome, stress, and sleep. She has co-authored several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Key publications include 'Characterization of Gastrointestinal Symptom Type and Severity in Parkinson's Disease: A Case-Control Study in an Australian Cohort' (2021, Movement Disorders Clinical Practice); 'Changes in the Gut Microbiome and Predicted Functional Metabolic Effects in an Australian Parkinson's Disease Cohort' (2021, Frontiers in Neuroscience); 'Differential effects of sex on longitudinal patterns of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease' (2021, Journal of Neurology); 'Elevated HDL Levels Linked to Poorer Cognitive Ability in Females With Parkinson's Disease' (2021, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience); 'Elevated Serum Homocysteine Levels Have Differential Gender-Specific Associations with Motor and Cognitive States in Parkinson's Disease' (2019, Parkinson's Disease); and 'The role of the gastrointestinal system and gut microbiota in Parkinson’s disease' (2020, book chapter in The Neuroscience of Parkinson’s Disease Volume 2). Additional works cover genetic polymorphisms in Parkinson's disease risk and gut homeostasis, as well as microbiome alterations in disease models. Through these contributions, Kenna advances understanding of gut-brain interactions in neurodegeneration.