Expertise
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Associate Member
McMaster School of Biomedical Engineering
Overview
Research interests:
Neurotrophic factors are proteins essential for nervous system development and function. The biosynthesis and regulation of neurotrophins such as NGF and BDNF are disrupted in many neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. My laboratory studies neurotrophin gene expression, regulation, signaling and trafficking and their role in Alzheimer’s disease and autism. By studying dysregulation of NGF and BDNF in these disorders, we have come to understand how the proper amount of neurotrophin reaches the proper cells at the right time, and the consequences if it doesn’t. We use human post mortem brain tissue, animal models and cell culture to study transcriptional, translational and post-translational regulation, signaling and transport of neurotrophins and their receptors in health and disease. Understanding how neurotrophins are dysregulated in Alzheimer’s disease and autism is crucial to identifying new therapeutic approaches and targets for these devastating disorders.