Therapeutic Sciences Graduate Program

A hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases is the accumulation of pathological aggregates, or proteinopathies, in the central nervous system. Intrinsically disordered proteins are capable of converting from dispersed or liquid-like phases into these solid inclusions, but the structure and assembly of these dynamic systems are difficult to capture. I am interested in using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in combination with other biochemical/biophysical techniques to probe the molecular interactions within the disordered region of RNA-binding proteins that form pathological inclusions in ALS and dementia. This work can inform protein engineering efforts to inhibit aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases for future therapeutics.