Monitoring Protein Aggregation and Aggregates’ Handling by Neurons

Summary

Cells maintain dynamic protein homeostasis, ensuring a manageable load of unfolded proteins and adequate availability of the protein folding machinery. In healthy proteostasis nascent proteins are chaperoned through the functional folding route avoiding misfolding and aggregation.

Project aims

Dementia-related pathologies are associated with a disbalanced proteostasis manifested in the aggregation of several particularly aggregation-prone proteins (e.g. TAU, a-betta, a-synuclein etc.). In this project, we develop live-cell- imaging-compatible aggregation-sensing techniques to study cellular mechanisms and factors behind aggregation-predisposing cellular conditions, and those involved in aggregates’ turn-over.

The aggregation monitoring techniques include biochemical assays and microscopy-based techniques such as Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging. The interplay between cellular stress, its response and protein aggregation handling is also explored.  

Contact details

Edward Avezov (ea347@medschl.cam.ac.uk) – UK Dementia Research Institute  

Opportunities

This project is open to applicants who want to do a:

• PhD
• MPhil