Webinar
The Mysterious Ways of TDP-43 to drive ALS/FTD pathology: Smart assays and approaches to break the Mystery
Webinar Summary:
TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP43) is a multifunctional RNA-binding protein implicated in various aspects of RNA metabolism, and its dysregulation is associated with human neurodegenerative disorders like Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTLD). Although significant progress has been made in understanding TDP43 function and dysfunction, there are still many unexplored mysteries surrounding this protein, limiting the way for the development of effective therapeutic interventions.
During this webinar we will explore the consequences of TDP43 escape from its normal physiological functions to pathological-like conditions, by means of several approaches applying advanced assay systems based on imaging techniques, molecular biology, relevant cellular models, and high-throughput compatible techniques.
Keywords:
TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP43), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD), pathological aggregates, misfolding, biomolecular condensates, primary cells, iPSC derived motor neurons, subcellular localization and translocation, High-content screening, RNAi, drug discovery, imaging.
Speakers:
– Stefan Lohmer, CEO
– Fernanda Ricci, Unit Manager, High Content Screening
Stefan Lohmer is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Axxam since 2001. Prior to founding Axxam, he was the Director of Bayer’s Research Centre in Milan (Italy) and the Head of Genomics worldwide for Bayer AG. In this function Stefan was responsible for generating and managing Bayer’s external genomic alliance with Millennium Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, USA). He joined Bayer at the corporate research center located at Wuppertal (Germany) in 1992. Stefan holds a degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the Albertus Magnus University in Cologne (Germany) and completed his PhD at the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding in Cologne. He is an inventor on more than 20 patents and has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications.Stefan serves on the Board of Directors for Rewind Therapeutics, Libra Therapeutics, and Golgi Neurosciences as well being an Observer on the Board of Acousia Therapeutics.
Stefan is passionate about transformative science and creating companies.
“Never follow the path, always set the trail!”
Fernanda is currently responsible for the High Content Screening (HCS) Unit at Axxam. She has ten years of experience in the field of screening technologies for drug discovery with focused expertise in imaging cell-based assays. Before joining Axxam, she worked in academia. During her PhD in Molecular Biophysics (Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa; Italy) she developed biosensors with high spatial and temporal resolution for cellular imaging applications (such as CloPhensor). She spent her post-doc studies in the Screening Unit of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT, Milan; Italy), where she was responsible for the development of wide-genome screenings by means of phenotypic readouts. She is author of 12 peer-reviewed publications, two international patents and one Italian patent and an image analysis pipeline published on the CellProfiler website (Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT http://cellprofiler.org/examples/published_pipelines).