Thinakaran Lab - Cell Biology of Alzheimer's Disease

In 2015 I came to the University of South Florida to study psychology as a pre-med student. At the beginning of my second year, I started volunteering in an Alzheimer’s lab where I investigated the post-translational modification, citrullination, on Tau in the rTg4510 mouse model of tauopathy; Instantly, I was captivated by the world of neurodegenerative research. After progressing to a technician, I picked up my second major in biological health sciences and continued to characterize citrullinated Tau for the remainder of my undergraduate studies. Following graduation, I worked as a technician in another Alzheimer’s lab where I helped to examine the roles of molecular chaperones, HSP22 and FKBP52, on Tau pathology in transgenic and non-transgenic mouse models.  In 2020, I joined the Thinakaran lab to investigate the potential impact molecular chaperones have on BIN1/Tau binding in Alzheimer’s disease.