Bonn/Tübingen, September15th 2011. Dr. Michela Deleidi, a scientist in Prof. Thomas Gasser’s research group at the DZNE site Tübingen and the Hertie Institute for Brain Research, received a Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers. With the award, she will investigate the interaction between genes and environment in the onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Only few forms of PD are monogenetic, i.e. caused by an inheritable mutation. In most cases, multiple genetic and possibly environmental factors interact to cause the disease. At the DZNE, Deleidi will investigate these interactions with a special focus on the role of the LRRK2 gene. Mutations in LRRK2 have previously been shown by Gasser and coworkers to put people at an elevated risk of acquiring PD. But why do some people that carry a LRRK2 mutation acquire PD while others don't? Deleidi will test the hypothesis that LRRK2 makes people more susceptible to neuroinflammation. To this end, she will carry out cell culture experiments with neurons derived from patients carrying LRRK2 mutations and investigate if these neurons are more vulnerable to neurodegenerative processes triggered by inflammation. The discovery of underlying disease mechanisms is fundamental to the identification of drug targets for clinical trials, and such cells will be used to screen new therapies.
Michela Deleidi studied medicine and received her MD at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan (Italy). As a postdoc, she combined her clinical training in neurology with lab experience and investigated the potential of the use of adult neural stem cells for neuronal regeneration in mice. Before coming to Tübingen, Deleidi worked at the Department of Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, studying the dynamics of neuronal regeneration, degeneration and protection with particular emphasis on PD.
Contact:
Dr. Michela Deleidi
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
michela.deleidi@dzne.de