Project Summary: The aim of the project is to characterize mechanisms that are engaged in the transition from early physiological adaptations to later pathological outcomes in Parkinson’s disease.  

My research combines in vivo and in vitro models to define molecular and mechanistic phenotypes that associate with pathology. More precisely the work will focus on defining the cellular and molecular consequences of elevated lipid load within the brain, and characterizing how failure to resolve neuroinflammation increases the risk of developing Parkinsons’s disease or dementia. The late phase of the project will finally explore how genetic and environmental factors may modulate the risk of developing late-onset neurodegenerative diseases.