Ms Yelena Ivanova

Supervisors: Dr Lovesha Sivanantharajah, Dr Aaron Comeault, and Prof. Amritpal Mudher (University of Southampton)

Cymwysterau

MSc: Biochemistry
University College London,

Diddordebau Ymchwil

Project title:

'Tau-focused approaches to understanding selective neuronal vulnerability in a Drosophila model of Alzheimer’s disease'

Layman description:

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases and causes of dementia. Alzheimer's is characterised by progressive degeneration of neurons in specific brain regions, leading to memory loss and behavioural changes. Despite significant progress, the reason behind some neurons being more affected by Alzheimer's than others is unknown. Presently, I am using a fruit fly model of Alzheimer's disease to investigate the mechanisms of this selective vulnerability. A better understanding of this phenomenon will aid in future drug development.