Former Members

Research Interests: I am interested in the physiological function of a-synuclein in neurons, especially its putative function in synaptic vesicle recycling (SVR). A-synuclein is implicated in Parkinson's disease, and malfunction of this protein in the modulation of SVR could be key in the search for possible new treatments.Parkinson Disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease. α-Synuclein plays a critical for familial and sporadic Parkinson Disease. This 14 KDa protein is highly expressed in the presynaptic compartment, but its function is still unknown. a-Synuclein was identified independently in several biological contexts as synaptic vesicle-associated components in the Torpedo electrical organ, as developmentally regulated gene products in the telencephalic circuit responsible for song learning in birds, and as generally abundant phosphoproteins in the mammalian brain. a-Synuclein belongs to a family of three proteins: α-, β- and γ-sunuclein and all of which are able to bind acidic lipids and sense membrane curvature.I am using mice that lack all synucleins, abg-synuclein triple knock outs to investigate a putative function for α-Synuclein in synaptic vesicle recycling. To achieve this goal I am using different approaches such a live imaging of synaptic vesicle recycling, immunelectron microscopy and biochemistry. Once I have molecularly defined the function of synucleins, my studies will be able to elucidate if deterioration of this function could contribute to the etiology of Parkinson's disease.Hometown: Dalcahue, Chiloé, ChileHobbies: I enjoy sports in general, but especially swim and squash when I have some free time. I regularly practice yoga and tango. For fun, I sing karaoke with friends and watch Dr. Who.

Research Interests: My thesis work is focused on protein interactions at the synapse and their role in neuronal health. Specifically, I am looking for the clients of two proteins implicated in forms of Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis to try to understand how their dysfunction leads to synapse loss and neurodegeneration.Hometown: Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USAHobbies: Outside of the lab, I enjoy dancing with Taps at Yale, working on the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine podcast, and hiking around Connecticut.

In collaboration with Yongquan Zhang, I am investigating the cellular mechanism of synapse maintenance in a mouse model of neurodegeneration. Cysteine string protein alpha (CSPα) is a co-chaperone for heat shock cognate protein 70 (Hsc70) that is involved in changing the conformation of targeted client proteins, and when this protein is knocked out in mice, the result is a progressive neurodegenerative phenotype.Recently, mutations human CSPα have been found to segregate with disease in families with adult-onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis. I am using dissociated neuron culture along with various microscopy and biochemical techniques to parse apart the cellular mechanism of neurodegeneration in CSPα KO neurons to determine how CSPα is able to prevent this neurodegeneration.

Research Interests: My thesis work is focused on the relationship between Gaucher disease, a lysosomal storage disease, and Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The two diseases share known genetic risk factors, but the molecular links between Gaucher and Parkinson's disease are still not well understood.Hometown: Tempe, Arizona, USAHobbies: Outside of science, I enjoy hiking up East Rock, playing flute, and sampling the New Haven cuisine.

The synuclein proteins are a group of three small proteins – α-, β-, and γ-synuclein – whose precise function is unknown, and which my project aims to identify. Of the three proteins, α-synuclein has been studied the most due to its involvement in neurodegenerative diseases, but we hypothesize that all three synucleins have the same or similar function due to their sequence conservation.I am using a variety of biochemical, biophysical, and cell biological methods to study synucleins’ interactions with membranes and other proteins. Based on the phenotypes of the synuclein triple-knockout mice that our lab generated and characterized (Greten-Harrison et al, 2010), I hypothesize that synucleins are regulators of neurotransmission through involvement in the synaptic vesicle cycle at the presynaptic terminal. By characterizing their interaction with membranes and other presynaptic proteins, it should be possible to determine at what step of this cycle they are active and how that activity affects neurotransmission.

Research interests: My work focuses on the physiological function of the protein α-synuclein. I'm particularly interested in its potential role in clathrin-mediated endocytosis and many of my current experiments seek to visualize the α-synuclein-clathrin interaction.Hometown: Olympia, Washington, USA Hobbies: Outside of lab, I like to read fanfiction, do crafts like needle felting and crochet, play video games, and try out sour beers. Fun fact: Rudy, the 100% totally official mascot of the Chandra lab, is my dog! He's a v good boi.