Professor Louise Serpell

The interplay between Abeta and tau in Alzheimer's disease

*Please note that Prof Serpell is not accepting any new rotation students.*

Alzheimer’s disease is well known for the involvement of Amyloid-beta (Abeta) and tau, which both self-assemble to form filaments which accumulate in the tissues extra- and intra-cellularly respectively. Each of these proteins is known to play an important role in the disease process and the neurodegeneration that is observed, but it remains unclear how these two proteins cause neuronal damage and death or how these proteins interact with one another.

We use confocal and electron microscopy to examine the effects of these proteins in neuronal cells and we are developing new methods to use X-ray tomography to gain exciting information regarding the changes to neuronal organelles. This project rotation will focus on examining the neuronal changes that accompany Abeta and tau pathology in cultured neurons.

Visit the Serpell Lab pages for more details and a list of relevant publications.

You might also be interested in:

• how to apply
• course structure
• research in Sussex Neuroscience.