Research Description:
The laboratory is interested in the regulation of protein breakdown by the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS). Protein breakdown decreases in many diseases caused by mutant proteins, especially neurodegenerative diseases, and in aging. The mechanisms through which this occurs are not understood. We have found new ways to increase protein breakdown by the UPS and have shown that these approaches can treat diseases in which protein breakdown is impaired – tauopathies and peripheral neuropathies. We are presently dissecting the mechanisms through which this occurs, to better understand why life evolved these mechanisms to turn proteasomes on and off, and to develop new, better pharmacological approaches to treat diseases in which protein degradation is altered.
My NCBI:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/jordan.verplank.1/bibliography/public/