Yongjie Zhang, PhDBACK

Senior Research Fellow, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

Generation and Characterization of M337V TDP-43 Transgenic Mice: A Possible Model For TDP-43 Proteinopathy

Dr. Zhang will develop a novel transgenic mouse model of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The model will express a nuclear protein called TDP-43 which is known to clump abnormally in a number of degenerative diseases. A mutation of the TDP-43 protein called M337V has been identified in young individuals from two unrelated families with a strong history of ALS and research in chick embryos, demonstrated that it caused neurons to die. Dr. Zhang will study how TDP-43 with the M337V mutation causes ALS. A greater understanding could lead to earlier biomarkers for diagnosis of the disease.