Collaborators

Kevin Talbot

Head of Department and Professor of Motor Neuron Biology
Alexander Thompson

Associate Professor
Martin Turner

Professor of Clinical Neurology & Neuroscience
Elizabeth Gray

Senior Clinical Project Manager
Laura Parkkinen

Professor of Translational Neuropathology

Colleges

Wolfson College

Ruxandra Dafinca

MSc DPhil

Alzheimer's Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow

Exploring dysfunctional signaling pathways in neurons from ALS/FTD patients

Research summary

I am leading a programme of research investigating the intracellular signaling pathways that drive synaptic deficiencies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (ALS/FTD) in neurons derived from patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

After completing my DPhil in Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at the University of Oxford, in 2013 I joined the Oxford MND Research group where I have developed and implemented the differentiation of iPSCs from ALS/FTD patients to motor and cortical neurons in a dish. Using iPSC-neurons, we aim to determine regulatory pathways affected by disease by implementing the use of spatial proteomics combined with transcriptomics and live imaging. The overarching goals of our work are to mechanistically understand the disease at the cellular level and to identify new therapeutic targets that can inform drug development for ALS and FTD.

My team's research is funded by Alzheimer's Society, My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, Motor Neuron Disease Association, Oxford University's John Fell Fund, Medical Sciences Division Pump-Priming Award.

If you are interested in collaborating with us or joining our group, please get in touch!