Research summary
My research has focused on two main aspects of neurobiology, the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and trapping and accumulation of inhibitory receptors at synapses. In my laboratory, we employ cell biological, biochemistry and proteomic techniques in an effort to: i) discover how pathogenic mutations in PARK genes lead to neuronal death, ii) uncover new leads for genetic analysis and iii) identify new therapeutic targets for disease modifying treatment. My current research focus is on the physiological and pathological role of the Parkinson’s disease protein LRRK2 in Wnt signalling and cytoskeletal function. In addition, I continue to research the role of proteins important for receptor clustering such as gephyrin and collybistin in inhibitory receptor clustering and intellectual disability.