Research area

The lengthening of average lifespan in developed societies has led to an increase in the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases. One intriguing aspect of neurodegeneration is the phenomenon known as selective neuronal vulnerability. This term refers to a specific pattern of dysfunction and gradual death of nerve cells observed in various brain disorders. An excellent illustration of selective vulnerability is the degeneration of Purkinje neurons in spinocerebellar ataxias. Despite extensive research over the years, the question of why certain neuron populations are more prone to damage than others remains largely unanswered. Our long-term research objective is to uncover the molecular mechanisms and cellular processes that govern the selective vulnerability of neurons in neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, we aim to identify effective therapeutic strategies that can protect these vulnerable cells. To achieve these objectives, our research focuses on the following areas:

• Developing and optimizing the protocol for selectively isolating Purkinje cell nuclei.
• Analyzing epigenetic changes, including histone modifications, in Purkinje cells derived from mouse models of spinocerebellar ataxia, using both bulk and single-cell methods.
• Studying chromatin accessibility in ataxia-affected Purkinje cells.
• Integrating bioinformatic analysis of transcriptional and epigenetic data to identify
  molecular differences between healthy and diseased cells.
• Creating tools that utilize artificial intelligence for the identification of molecular
  phenotypes in degenerating Purkinje cells.