Laura Ranum, Ph.D.

Director, Center for NeuroGenetics at University of Florida

Speaker

Dr. Laura P.W. Ranum, is the Director of the Center for Neurogenetics and the Kitzman Family Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Florida. In 2011, her lab discovered that novel category of proteins are produced from repeat expansion mutations without canonical AUG-initiation codons. These toxic, repeat-associated, non-AUG (RAN) proteins have been found in a growing number of neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and ataxia. Recent data she will present show RAN proteins are a common type of pathology found in Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, her group has developed a novel method to clone repeat expansion mutations directly from patient DNA. Mechanistic insights from her recent work have identified novel therapeutic strategies to treat RAN protein disorders.