Early Career Fellows
Albert Chiang
MSc North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
PhD National Centre for Biological Centre, Bangalore
Early Career Fellowship research summary
The general architecture of the nervous system, established during development, needs to be maintained throughout life, while retaining the plasticity and ability to respond to the changing environment. While mechanisms of neuronal plasticity are relatively well-studied, the mechanisms that regulate neuronal stability remain poorly understood and the mechanisms that influence synapse maintenance remains poorly defined, despite their potential relevance to neuroprotection and neurodegeneration.
We identified Gsk-3beta as a key integrator of activity and Wnt signaling in stabilizing synapses of Drosophila olfactory sensory neurons. I plan to extend our current studies by identifying the molecular players that are regulated by Gsk-3beta in Drosophila neurons using imaging and genetic approaches in Professor Veronica Rodrigues’ lab at NCBS. These candidate molecules will be further tested in the vertebrate nervous system ( in collaboration with Professor Patricia Salinas, UCL) to elucidate their general contribution to neuronal stability.
In humans, the Wnt signaling cascade has been implicated in neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and retinal degeneration. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms by which Wnt signaling regulate synaptic maintenance in the nervous system is a critical step
Albert’s institutional homepage