Dr. Liachko is a molecular biologist and research geneticist committed to improving the lives of those afflicted by neurodegenerative diseases of aging, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-TDP), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Her goals are to understand the biology underlying these diseases and to identify and validate new therapeutic targets. To accomplish this, the Liachko lab works with models of ALS, FTLD-TDP, and AD including mouse primary neurons, mammalian cultured cells, and the nematode C. elegans to identify molecular changes that promote disease and test whether interventions in these processes provide neuroprotection.
Aggregates of phosphorylated TDP-43 protein in disease-affected neurons are the pathological hallmark of ALS and FTLD-TDP, and are sometimes present in patients with AD. The Liachko lab is studying cellular pathways promoting or clearing phosphorylated TDP-43, particularly focused on the kinases CDC7, TTBK1/2, and the phosphatase calcineurin. Ongoing work includes identifying contributors to TDP-43 neurotoxicity and mapping out the mechanisms controlling pathological TDP-43 phosphorylation.
