What is exciting about your research’s potential impact?
One exciting aspect of my research is that it could reveal why certain brain regions are more vulnerable to protein accumulation and damage as we age. By mapping how different proteins are cleared through select drainage pathways and how these routes break down over time, we can begin to understand why diseases like Alzheimer’s disease affect some areas of the brain more than others. This work also has the potential to identify early signs of age-related decline in brain health by finding brain-derived proteins in the blood, which could serve as noninvasive biomarkers. Ultimately, this could enable earlier diagnosis and intervention before irreversible damage occurs and open up new strategies to protect brain health as we age.
How would you describe your research to a non-scientist?
Brain health relies on a delicate balance between making new proteins and clearing away old ones. As we age, the brain becomes less efficient at removing waste proteins. When these proteins accumulate, they can disrupt brain cell function and contribute to memory loss and diseases like Alzheimer’s. My research focuses on a lesser-known process the brain uses to clear out these waste proteins. In addition to degrading proteins inside cells, the brain also sends them out through drainage pathways that direct waste to nearby tissues. My aim is to study how this clearance system works, and importantly, how it breaks down with age. By figuring out where the system fails and which proteins aren’t being cleared properly, I hope to find new ways to protect the brain. Understanding these clearance pathways could help explain why certain regions of the brain are more vulnerable to damage than others, and how age-related changes in waste removal may contribute to the early stages of disease.
