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Johanna Hoffmann

DPhil Student

“Understanding intracellular calcium dynamics in human Parkinson’s patient stem cell neurons”

RESEARCH PROJECT

My DPhil project focuses on intracellular calcium dynamics in Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is characterised by inter alia the loss of dopaminergic neurons (DA neurons) in the substantia nigra pars compacta in the midbrain. Calcium is known to play a central role in normal physiological function in DA neurons and the increased energy demand of DA neurons might be one of the reasons for their specific vulnerability in PD. My project focuses specifically on lysosomal calcium channels that have previously been shown to be involved in cellular PD phenotypes. By differentiating DAns from iPSCs from controls or PD patients, I am trying to uncover the role of three ligand gated lysosomal calcium channels in PD and investigate their potential as therapeutic targets.