Majid Hafezparast
Molecular mechanisms of Motor Neuron Disease
Neurodegeneration
To design therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, we must first understand the causes.” louise serpell
Professor of Biochemistry
Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with progressive deterioration of brain function. Many are sporadic, with aging being biggest risk factor, but hereditary forms can provide further understanding of the cause. Researchers in Sussex Neuroscience are studying the underlying genetic, molecular, cellular, behavourial and functional changes that are associated with conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and motor neuron disease. Focussed and multidisciplinary studies are addressing the underlying triggers of disease, causes and the hall-marks of progression, paving the way to development of therapeutics.
Faculty
Louise Serpell
Structure and function of amyloidogenic peptides and proteins
Kevin Staras
Synapses: function and dysfunction in learning and disease
Sarah Guthrie
Development and disorders of motor neurons
Ilse Pienaar
Neurodegenerative diseases
Nicholas Dowell
Quantitative imaging techniques; biomarkers of disease
Nigel Leigh
Motor Neuron Disease
Chris Bird
Episodic memory
Catherine Hall
Brain energy supply and demand
Sarah King
Molecular neuroscience of addiction and neurodegeneration
Jennifer Rusted
Memory, attention and information processing across the lifespan
Ivor Simpson
Spatiotemporal statistical modelling; Morphometry and imaging biomarkers
Research centres and groups relating to this theme
- Dementia Research Group
- Neurodegenerative Disease and Ageing Research Centre
- Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre
- Sussex Drug Discovery Centre
Focus on: Mahmoud Maina
Research Fellow
“I am interested in the basic mechanism of neurodegeneration in tauopathies, especially Alzheimer's disease.
My interest in this area started as an undergraduate student in Nigeria, where I obtained my BSc in Human Anatomy from the University of Maiduguri. Afterwards I served as a part-time tutor at the School of Psychiatric Nursing, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Maiduguri, Nigeria, where my interest in the field became consolidated.
Given the reputation of Sussex in the field of Neuroscience, in 2011, I joined Sussex for my MSc in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, followed by a PhD in the Serpell Laboratory during which I investigated the role of nuclear Tau in Alzheimer's disease. This work revealed a new role for Tau other than binding the microtubules.
After my PhD, I took up a research fellow position in the Serpell Lab, where I continue to ask key questions on the role of Tau and amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease.”
