Grant Title:
Location:
Grant Year:
Human genetics studies have identified Syntaxin-6 as a risk gene for sporadic CJD, with higher gene activity levels linked to increased risk. Our group has shown that lowering the levels of Syntaxin-6 has a protective effect in a mouse model of prion disease. Our proposed work aims to increase the levels of syntaxin-6 in mice to better mimic the disease context. If this accelerates disease progression following infection of these mice with prions, this will provide strong evidence that Syntaxin-6 has a pathological role in prion disease, and enable further studies on how this effect occurs. Furthermore, this new mouse model will allow the testing of syntaxin-6 lowering therapeutics as a novel strategy to treat prion diseases.
About the Researcher:
Dr. Thomas Cunningham
MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, London
Dr Cunningham leads the Mouse Models of Prion Disease research group at the MRC Prion Unit and Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, UK, with expertise in genome engineering, mouse genetics, and studying mouse models of neurodegeneration. His current work is focused on better understanding the molecular and phenotypic nature of prion disease, including modelling inherited prion disease variants, and working together with colleagues in human genetics to understand genetic risk factors.
Recipient Of:
- The Michael H. Cole Memorial Research Grant, contributed by Jeanne Cole
- The Fred Glavan/Lee Gallagher Family Memorial Grant, contributed by the Glavan and Gallagher families
- The Ross Melamed Memorial Grant, contributed by Olivia Melamed
- The José A. Piriz and Sonia E. Piriz Memorial Research Grant, contributed by Karla and Lauren Piriz
- The Tom Stivison Memorial Research Grant, contributed by Sandra (Cookie) Stivison
- The Andy Lewis Memorial Grant, contributed by his daughters
- The Strides for CJD Research Grant, contributed by the families of the CJD Foundation
- The Daniel L. Dolgin Celebration Grant, contributed by His Family