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GEE Friday Seminar - Dr Alex Hull, Postdoctoral Research Associate, IHA
28 January 2022, 3:00 pm–4:00 pm
Title: 'Microbiota Dysbiosis Causes Immune Activation and Pathology in a Drosophila Lysosomal Storage Disease Model'
Event Information
Open to
- UCL staff | UCL students | UCL alumni
Availability
- Yes
Organiser
-
GEE Friday Seminars Organising Committee
Location
-
Zoom---
Abstract: Lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) are a rare class of heritable metabolic disorders with multi-organ defects and few therapeutic strategies, and several causative LSD genes are risk factors for Parkinson's. We establish a Drosophila disease model with shortened lifespan, loss of autophagic flux in the brain and neurological defects and demonstrate constitutively high systemic immune activation. We evidence an altered microbiome, and remarkably raising the flies in germ-free conditions ameliorates pathology and eliminates the immune response.
About the Speaker
Dr Alex Hull
Postdoctoral Research Associate at UCL
Alex graduated with a 1st class BSc in Genetics from the University of Liverpool. He then completed his PhD in the research group of Dr Herman Wijnen at the University of Southampton, studying the developmental role of CLK/CYC in adult Drosophila circadian rhythms. Alex has just returned from the US where he was a post-doc at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle.
More about Dr Alex Hull