Grant: Project Grant

Tau associates with microtubules in neuronal axons to stabilize and organize the cytoskeleton. By controlling the ability of motor proteins to access microtubules, tau also regulates the transport of organelles, mRNA, and other cargoes. Tau dysregulation results in neurodegenerative disease -- tau is hyperphosphorylated in Alzheimer's Disease and point mutations result in Perry Syndrome, Frontotemporal Dementia, and other tauopathies. Using molecular-resolution imaging of purified, reconstituted systems and stem-cell derived neuronal models, we will examine how tau controls the microtubule cytoskeleton and trafficking along it, and how dysregulation leads to neurodegeneration.