Weekly lecture series hosted by the Center for Neuroregeneration and Department of Neurosurgery. 

Tuesdays at 9am-10am in Neurosensory Blue Bird Auditorium 

Title: Nanomedicine and Genome Editing Approaches for Disease Therapies

Abstract: α-Synuclein exists in an equilibrium between a membrane-bound pool on synaptic vesicles and a cytosolic pool. Aggregated α-synuclein is a major component of Lewy bodies in various neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s; however, it is controversial if aggregation of α-synuclein initiates from its lipid-bound or unstructured cytosolic state. Strikingly, all familial Parkinson’s disease mutations are located within the lipid binding domain of α-synuclein, which suggests that changes in membrane binding affect both α-synuclein physiology and pathology. Using in vitro, in cellulo and in vivo readouts, we have identified multiple factors affecting the membrane binding of α-synuclein, offering new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for synucleinopathies.