Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Specialty/Areas of Interest
Mechanisms of ocular tumorigenesis
DNA-damage related pathogenesis
Education
PhD: West Virginia University CDC – National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH)
Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences
Post-Doctorate
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jackie is originally from a small town about an hour west of St. Louis, MO. After completing her BS in Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, she earned a PhD in Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences from West Virginia University at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Her graduate work focused on understanding the oxidative stress response and DNA damage signaling mechanisms of environmental heavy metal exposure.
Although she would miss the beautiful scenery and amazing people in Morgantown, Jackie relocated to Chapel Hill to begin a postdoctoral fellowship at UNC Chapel Hill where she secured an individual NRSA F32 award to examine the roles of DNA damage signaling, cell cycle checkpoint function, and genomic instability in cancer biology. She is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at UNC Chapel Hill, where she studies the mechanisms of ocular tumorigenesis and DNA-damage related causes of ocular pathogenesis.
Jackie is also a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Breast Cancer Program, where she collaborates with members of the Hematology/Oncology, Nutrition Research Institute, and Epidemiology departments to explore genomic instability-related mechanisms contributing to chemotherapy resistance and breast cancer recurrence. In her free time, Jackie enjoys hanging out with her German Shepherd, managing two co-ed indoor soccer teams, watching Notre Dame football, and pretending that she knows how to garden.
To view a list of Dr. Bower’s publications, click here.
To learn more about Dr. Bower’s work at the Carolina Eye Research Institute, click here.
