I am interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying selective neuronal vulnerability in neurodegeneration. My goal is to identify novel disease targets that could lead to effective therapeutic interventions to improve patients' quality of life. I use induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to establish novel neuronal models of disease (disease-in-a-dish) to identify and modify the early mechanisms of cellular dysregulation. My current projects focus on:

1. Impaired lipid metabolism in dementia. Exploring the molecular mechanism underlying lipid perturbations in neuronal models of dementia in the context of selective neuronal vulnerability. Focusing on cholesterol biosynthesis, Lipid Droplet homeostasis and fatty acid metabolism.   
2. Novel drivers of neuronal resilience. Identification of novel genes that mediate neuronal vulnerability and resilience using arrayed and pooled CRISPR screens (genome-wide and targeted libraries).  Particular focus on lipid dysregulation, ER stress and lysosomal function.
3. Functional cellular heterogeneity. Dissecting neuronal diversity and heterogeneity in neurodegeneration at scale, by developing and implementing a range of high-throughput and deep phenotyping tools including single-cell lipidomics and single-cell transcriptomics. By implementing these complementary approaches, I aim at identifying critical targets for neurodegeneration with future clinical applications.

I am a strong advocate for interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts as the path for innovation and cutting-edge research. Get in touch if you would like to discuss possible collaborations or simply to chat about exciting research ideas!