Jeff Kuret
Professor
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
Ph.D., Pharmacology, Stanford University, 1984
| Research Division : |
Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics |
Contact : |
108 Rightmire |
More info : |
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Students : |
Carol Huseby |
Alumni : |
Katryna Cisek , Carmen Stoia-Chirita , Theresa Kannanayakal , Mihaela Necula , Xian Yu , Kelsey Schafer |
Research Interests: Current Research:
This laboratory investigates the biochemical pathways that mediate the appearance of the hallmark intracellular lesions of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other dementias. Two projects are underway. First, we have developed novel methods for assembling filaments like those found in the neurofibrillary tangles of AD. The goals of this project are to characterize the mechanism of filament assembly, determine the contribution of postranslational modification to the process, clarify the role of filament formation in neuronal cell death, and assess the potential utility of small-molecule fibrillization inhibitors for disease therapy. The second project focuses on protein kinases associated with granulovacuolar and neurofibrillary lesions of AD, and seeks to determine the function of these enzymes in normal cell biology and in disease. In so doing, we hope to dissect the signal transduction pathways involved in AD pathogenesis.