Metal ions in Alzheimer's disease

This talk will be presented by Dr Lisa M. Miller
Biophysicist, Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University
Member of Australian Synchrotron Science Advisory Committee

Wednesday 5 May 2010 @ 4.00pm
Lecture Theatre
770 Blackburn Rd, Clayton

The focus of our laboratory is on the study of the chemical makeup of tissue in disease using high-resolution infrared and x-ray imaging at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source. We have two primary research areas: (1) examination of the chemical composition of bone tissue in diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, and (2) correlation of metal ion content and protein structure in brain tissue in protein-folding diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and scrapie.

In many protein-folding diseases, proteins that normally occur in the brain are found to misfold and aggregate, causing neurological damage. These protein aggregates are often associated with high metal content in the brain. For example, high concentrations of zinc have been associated with amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease. Using synchrotron x-ray and infrared imaging, the metal ions and protein aggregates can be imaged and correlated. These findings will help to determine how the accumulation of metal ions in the brain is associated with protein misfolding.

Talk jointly hosted by:
CSIRO
Monash Centre for Synchrotron Science (MCSS)
Clayton Biomedical Imaging Laboratory
Australian Synchrotron
ARC Centre for Coherent X-Ray Science

For further information, contact Steve Wilkins on 03 9902 9802