Alejandra Alvarez

I have training in biochemistry and obtained the PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology. I have a broad background in Cell Biology, with specific training and expertise in neurobiology and neurodegenerative diseases. Science my doctoral work I became interested in the molecular mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases. In my PhD Thesis I characterized the promoting effect of Acetylcholinesterase on Aβ peptide aggregation and in my post-doctorate I studied tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer disease (AD) acquiring expertise in evaluating signal transduction pathways involved neuronal death and cytoskeletal alterations associated to neurodegeneration. In the last years I have been actively conducting research focused on understanding the role of c-Abl tyrosine kinase signaling in neurodegenerative diseases. Our work has shown that c-Abl is a key signaling in the AD pathology that mediates synaptic loss, LTP blockade, neuronal death, tau phosphorylation and cognitive impairments in AD models. I have obtained financial support for our research from Chilean national grants and International Foundations. Also, currently we are developing a translational project in collaboration with the National Center of Genomic and Chemistry of NIH to obtain new c-Abl inhibitors for AD treatment. Already we have obtained new drugs that were protected in USA. I successfully have administered projects, collaborated with other researchers, and published several manuscripts. I want to emphasize that my academic productivity is mainly (87%) of original articles. I have formed undergraduate and PhD students, so I have experience in human resources training, and I was the Chief of Cell and Molecular Biology PhD program at UC.