Our Research
Our overall goal is to develop a better understanding of the processes that occur during neurodegenerative disorders in order to facilitate therapies that may ultimately prolong cognitive or motor function in diseases such as Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s diseases (PD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A large part of our work involves the generation of constitutive and inducible model systems for the study of proteins that are thought to play a major role in disease progression including TDP-43, tau and lrrk2. These models comprise a critical resource for the CTRND as it strives to translate laboratory findings into diagnostics or therapies for human diseases. In particular we focus on cellular pathways altered in these in vivo models that may play a contributory role in disease and study the formation of pathological species of protein that are hallmarks of the human condition. Understanding these pathways is key to developing therapies against these pathological proteins or the damage that they cause. In addition to our generation and characterization of novel model systems for human neurodegenerative diseases, we interact with other academic or pharmaceutical colleagues to determine the efficiency of novel therapies for the human diseases that we study. Recent and ongoing funding from the NIH (NINDS, NIA), DoD, ALSA, Alzheimer’s Association, and MJFF as well as private benefactors have been critical in helping our studies move toward the clinic.
Areas of Research
- Modeling and Therapeutic Trials for Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Frontotemporal Dementia
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Join the Lab
We are always looking for talented Postdocs and volunteers to join our team. Please contact Dr. Lewis to see if positions are available.
Lab Members
