The Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology welcomes Dr. Annalisa Scimemi, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at SUNY Albany, to WSU Spokane on Tuesday, March 11. She will be providing her seminar at 12:10 p.m., “Aβ42: A Jack of Many Troublesome Trades in Alzheimer’s Disease,” in SAC 347 and via Zoom.
Annalisa Scimemi earned her PhD in Biophysics in 2001, at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy. In 2002, she continued her studies at the University College London (UCL); 2005 joined the NIH with Dr. Jeffrey Diamond and in 2013, she assumed a faculty position at SUNY Albany.
Synapses are critical targets of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a highly prevalent neurodegenerative disease associated with accumulation of extracellular amyloid-β peptides. Although amyloidosis and aggregation of the 42-amino acid amyloid-β (Aβ42) have long been considered pathogenic triggers for AD, clinical evidence linking high levels of soluble Aβ42 with normal cognition challenges this hypothesis. To resolve this conundrum on the role of Aβ42 in regulating synaptic activity, we used a viral approach to trigger extracellular accumulation of Aβ42 and spatial memory impairment. We will discuss the effects that this peptide exerts on synaptic function in the mouse hippocampus.
We look forward to you joining us in SAC 347 or thru Zoom!
Questions/Zoom link? Contact Michelle Sanchez at michelle.r.sanchez@wsu.edu.
