Home Department: Bioengineering
Mentor: Tony Wyss-Coray (Neurology & Neurological Sciences)

“Characterizing Microglial Internalization Receptors and Surface
Receptor Dynamics”

Lysosome-targeting chimeras (LYTACs) allow targeted degradation of cell-membrane and extracellular proteins. This therapeutic modality is of interest in the context of various neurological disorders, which increase with age and often involve toxic extracellular proteins. The aim of the Wyss-Coray lab is to develop cell-type specific LYTACs for the brain, focusing on microglia. Through a mass-spectrometry based approach, George intends to identify microglia-specific surface receptors that traffic to the lysosome and can be co-opted for targeted degradation. Then he will seek to characterize how microglial surface receptor dynamics are affected by both age and disease state. He hopes to identify receptors that can specifically degrade target proteins even in aged microglia.