Michael Ward, USA

Presentation

The use of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models in the study of neurodegenerative diseases has been nothing short of revolutionary for our field. iPSCs can be derived from patients harboring gene mutations, and genetically modified with CRISPR-based technologies to introduce or remove disease-causing mutations, and then differentiated into a variety of disease-relevant CNS cell types at scale. Here, I will present recent efforts by our lab and by the field to leverage the power of iPSC models to tackle basic mechanistic and translational research problems facing the neurodegeneration research community. Highlights include identification of new therapeutic targets for FTD, such as UNC13A, biomarker strategies for TDP-43 ‘opathies, and discovery approaches for the basic biology of these diseases such as forward genetic screens and proteomics.

Bio

Dr. Ward is a Neurologist and Senior Investigator at the National Institutes of Health. His research focuses on the underlying mechanisms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), two related neurodegenerative disorders. His lab uses a combination of cell biology, proteomic, and functional genomic approaches in iPSC neuron models of ALS/FTD, with a long-term goal of understanding how disease-associated mutations lead to neurodegeneration.

  • FTD in a dish / New models in FTD

    Date: 19 Sep 2024Time: 16:00 - 16:30 CET