Regenerative Approaches Against Brain Degeneration
Our group focuses on identifying regenerative approaches to counteract age-associated brain degeneration.
Aging is a major risk factor for many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. These diseases are characterized by the progressive loss of neurons and their connections, leading to cognitive decline or motor impairment. Our research focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms in the aging brain that predispose to neurodegeneration. The objective is to identify druggable targets to develop effective therapeutics.
We are also interested in looking at the brain when neurodegenerative mechanisms start. At a very early stage, the brain responds by initiating neurogenesis, however, due to a lack of proper neurotrophic support, it is not sustained, and the new-born neurons do not mature into functional cells. We use various techniques, including stem cell culture and brain organoids, to investigate how we can sustain the trophic properties of the brain to halt or delay cell death and loss of connectivity. We also test novel approaches to manipulate certain transcription factors that can promote neurogenesis and repair damaged neural circuits.
