If you seem surprised that Catherine Danielle “Dani” Jones is an artist and scientist, she will remind you about Darwin. The newly- minted PhD and holder of Alabama BRAIN Lab’s first post-doc position grew up in Hayden, Alabama, a small community in Blount County, 35 miles north of Birmingham. As a young child, she dreamed of following in her brother’s footsteps by attending UAB. To make that happen, after graduating high school, she worked at Cracker Barrel and attended community college for 5 years, saving money and completing pre-requisite courses. That job, she says, was an education unto itself. “I learned how to really talk to people, to identify and assess them. I had to work quickly on my feet and problem-solve. I also learned how to better work as a team member.” She was so good at her job that her manager, who announced over the PA every compliment staff received from customers, had to change policy. Other wise he would’ve spent every shift that Dani worked reading her compliments.

After finally arriving at UAB, the Honors psychology major wasted no time. She began research on mice and soon became the study coordinator for the first human-based protocol that evidenced the connection between reduced inflammation and a low carb and low fat diet. She continued on at UAB, first receiving her Master’s in Public Health, during which she was awarded an Albert Schweitzer fellowship. She chose as her service project to examine the impact of art lessons on depression in a local nursing and rehab facility. She extended this work for her doctorate (School of Health Professions—Rehab Sciences) looking at physical activity, depression, and Multiple Sclerosis.

“I joined ABL to work with Dr. McGregor,” Dani says. His expertise in cognition will inform her interests in neuroinflammation/depression. “I want to better understand the act of creativity and how it impacts cortisol,” she says, acknowledging that inflammation underpins so many chronic diseases, not just MS and depression.

Another surprise about Dani, is that she doesn’t offer advice on the proverbial long and winding road that makes dreams come true. Instead she lives by a personal motto: “Changing the world starts with Art.”