Award Details
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0947-4459
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1719-4708
Age is the greatest risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), yet the contribution of the aging immune system has been underappreciated and understudied. I previously published findings that showed immune cells outside of the brain which carry a PD-associated mutation were exhausted; when immune cells become exhausted, they lose the ability to respond to infections and inflammation, leading to a dysregulated and dampened immune response. What is still unknown is 1. The downstream effects of this exhaustion on cells in the brain, specifically those vulnerable in PD, and 2. What is the underlying mechanism causing this exhaustion and if it can be targeted to prevent PD. This proposal aims to address both of these using a combination of mouse pre-clinical models and immune cells from PD-patients and healthy controls. The completion of this proposal will inform us of the role of immune cell exhaustion in PD and if this potentially a future therapeutic target.
Project Categories
Immunology
Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Project Keywords
Aging
Inflammation
LRRK2
Mitochondrial Metabolism
Awardee Biography
Rebecca Wallings is a senior postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Malu Tansey, Center of Translational Research and Neurodegenerative Disease (CTRND), at the University of Florida. Her research career began at University College London (UCL), where she completed her MSc in Clinical Neuroscience in 2017 which culminated in a research thesis investigating the effects of PD mutations in immune cells. She then went on to complete her DPhil in Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at the University of Oxford in 2018 under the supervision of Professor Richard Wade-Martins, Director of the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre, and Dr. Natalie Connor-Robson. Her thesis focused on the effects of familial PD mutations on lysosomal function in neurons. Since beginning her post-doctoral training in 2019, Rebecca has been at the forefront of neuroimmunological research in PD, identifying the novel role of immune cell exhaustion in PD. During her final year of mentored training, Rebecca’s research will expand on her most recent findings implicating PD mutations in immune cell exhaustion. Once Rebecca has successfully gained independence, made possible with the PF LAUNCH award, the overarching mission of her lab will be to understand how immune cell exhaustion in peripheral immune cells leads to neurodegeneration in the brain, and how this could be targeted for potential therapeutics.