Research

Currently, I working on sex differences in oxidative stress management in the liver and the brain and their implications in estradiol supplementation in pre- and post-menopausal women and disease pathologies such as Hyperhomocysteinemia and Parkinson's Disease. In these projects I work with systems of ordinary differential equations to model the underlying biochemical networks. These dynamical systems offer insight into compelling mathematical questions, such as periodic forcing within nonlinear ordinary differential equations, while also being instrumental in analyzing and addressing questions in physiology and medicine.

Publications

Graduate Work

1. [2025] Mizuki Suzuki, Hwi Young Kim, Michael C Reed, Frederik Nijhout, Allison Cruikshank, Manal Abdelmalek, Anna Mae Diehl, Paul M. Yen, Brijesh Kumar Singh, Madhulika Tripathi, Ayako Suzuki. Elevated Homocysteine is Associated with Liver Fibrosis in MASLD in a Sex- and Menopause-Specific Manner. Under Review at Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

2. [2025] Allison Cruikshank, Michael C. Reed, H. Frederick Nijhout. A Mathematical Model of Oxidative Stress: Sex Differences and Cystathionine β-Synthase Deficiency. Under Review at Mathematical Biosciences.

3. [2025] Michael C. Reed, Ayako Suzuki, Allison Cruikshank, Mizuki Suzuki, H. Frederik Nijhout. Differential effects of synthetic estrogen on serum homocysteine levels before and after menopause. Under Review at PLoS One.

4. [2024] Sergio Mena, Allison Cruikshank, Janet Best, H. Frederik Nijhout, Michael C. Reed, Parastoo Hashemi. "Modulation of Serotonin Transporter Expression by Escitalopram under Inflammation; Implications for SSRI Effectiveness." Communications Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06240-3.

5. [2024] Allison Cruikshank, Michael C. Reed, H. Frederik Nijhout. "Sex Differences in Glutathione Metabolism and Acetaminophen Toxicity." Metabolism and Target Organ Damage. https://doi.org/10.20517/mtod.2023.44.

6. [2024] Anna Marie Buchanan, Sergio Mena, Iman Choukari, Aditya Vasa, Jesseca N. Crawford, Jim Fadel, Nick Maxwell, Lawrence Reagan, Allie Cruikshank, Janet Best, H. Frederik Nijhout, Michael Reed, Parastoo Hashemi. "Serotonin as a Biomarker of Toxin-Induced Parkinsonian." Molecular Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-023-00773-9.

7. [2023] Allison Cruikshank, Janet Best, H. Frederik Nijhout, Michael C. Reed."Dynamical Questions in Volume Transmission." Journal of Biological Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513758.2023.2269986.

   Undergraduate Work

8. [2023] Archer Harrold, Allison Cruikshank, Bryan Penas, Rebecca Roston. "Introducing High School Biology Students to Biochemistry with a Short, Content-Oriented Intervention." Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21782.

Teaching