My current research interest is on the cell & chemical biology of Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases. Specifically, we are interested in studying the role of age-related changes in cell hydration and macromolecular crowding in modulating the structure, function as well as pathogenicity of intrinsically disordered disease proteins, the polyQ-expanded mutant Huntingtin protein as a case in point. For this, we use a cell model of Huntington’s disease (HD) to evaluate the effects of macromolecular crowding in driving compaction of the polyQ-expanded mutant Huntingtin protein into forming micron size protein aggregates term Inclusion Body (IB) and the concurrent changes in key transcription factor (TF) function, including CREB (cAMP-response element binding protein) - a TF essential for memory consolidation. Our goal is to better understand the dynamic regulation of folded versus disordered proteome in cells, and how age-related changes in cell environment are conducive to aggregation of structurally dynamic disease proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases.
Program Faculty
- Alice Y. Liu
- Professor
- Department: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience
- Graduate Program(s): Biochemistry | Cell and Developmental Biology | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Major Research Interest(s): Aging, Cell stress / Cell death, Gene regulation, Neurological disease, Pathogenesis
- Research Techniques: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Cell culture, Fluorescent and super resolution microscopy, Imaging
- Research Organism(s): Bacteria, Cell lines
- Phone: 1.8484452730
- Email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - School of Arts and Sciences
- Division of Life Sciences
- Nelson Biological Laboratories, Room B303
- 604 Allison Road
- Piscataway, NJ 08854-8000
- Key Words: Aging; Huntington's Disease; disease protein aggregation & pathogenesis; intrinsically disordered proteins; hydration and proteome dynamics