Research
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Genetic studies have recently identified several PD-linked proteins that are involved in endocytic trafficking at the synapse, suggesting impaired synaptic transmission is an early feature of PD. The long-term goal of my laboratory is to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms of PD and reveal new potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of PD. Specifically, we will investigate how the impaired synaptic membrane trafficking results in selective neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons in PD. We will also study the potential synergistic function of several PD-linked proteins on synaptic endocytic pathway. Previously, we have identified a novel PD mutation in Synaptojanin1/PARK20, and developed a Knock-In mouse model which recapitulates human patients’ manifestations. We plan to perform biochemical, cell biological, genetic, physiological, pathological and behavioral experiments to address these questions using the PD mouse models and iPSC-derived human patient neurons.