The Ozdinler Lab is interested in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for early vulnerability and progressive degeneration of upper motor neurons. These neuron populations are clinically relevant. Their degeneration leads to diseases such as HSP (hereditary spastic paraplegia), PLS (primary lateral sclerosis) and when their degeneration together with spinal motor neurons, leads to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
Ozdinler Lab is developing cell-based and mechanism-focused drug discovery efforts to include the neurons that degenerate in drug discovery platforms and perform selection based on the mechanisms that are perturbed in patients. Ozdinler lab is also trying to find biomarkers that inform about the timing and the extent of upper motor neuron loss in patients. In addition, the lab is developing AAV-mediated gene delivery approaches directly to the diseased upper motor neurons in the cortex, in an effort to develop personalized and effective treatment strategies, especially for rare disease patients.
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