Via Zoom: "Genetic Insight into Neurodegenerative Disease from Drosophila"
Stanford Bio-X Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences Seminar
NANCY BONINI, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Bonini lab specializes in using the genetically tractable model organism, Drosophila, as a tool to understand the molecular basis of disease and disorder of the brain, with a particular focus on degenerative processes including ALS/FTD, TBI and aging. They implement cutting-edge genetic, molecular and cellular approaches to develop and characterize models of these processes to study their molecular basis, with an emphasis on potential translatability to clinical improvement.
Abstract:
Human neurodegenerative diseases, like ALS, Alzheimer’s and Frontotemporal dementia, are late onset progressive disorders for which few cures or treatments are available. To address mechanisms, we have been using the model organism Drosophila. We can re-create protein toxicity in the fly brain, and then take advantage of the powerful molecular genetic approaches in the fly to define pathways and mechanisms. These studies have highlighted multiple pathways critical for longterm maintenance of the brain. In addition, a number of environmental issues influence brain health, including traumatic brain injury. In addition to genetic approaches, we are working on a TBI model for flies with head-specific trauma, that we call dTBI (Drosophila TBI). We are assessing the extent to which key pathways that mitigate genetically conferred neurodegeneration can also mitigate brain degeneration associated with dTBI. These pathways and players indicate that boosting the ability of the nervous system to combat stress helps promote healthful brain aging and resistance to degeneration.
April 9th, 2020 at 4:00 PM PST
Hosted by:
Aaron D. Gitler, The Stanford Medicine Basic Science Professor, Stanford University
Pre-Seminar April 7th, 2020 at 5:00 PM
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