Michael Haney, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine, recently visited the University of Pennsylvania to present an Institute on Aging Visiting Scholar Series lecture on Functional Genomics of Neuroimmune Interactions in Alzheimer’s Disease and Aging.
Much of Dr. Haney's work focuses on diseases of the aging brain, such as Alzheimer’s disease, with a particular focus on neuroimmunology and the reaction that microglia have in the aging brain. His lab has found that the APOE gene -- the genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease -- can contribute to the accumulation of pro-inflammatory structures known as lipid droplets in the microglia of the aging brain. Secreted factors from these microglia can damage neurons and induce neurodegeneration, he explained, and better understanding this process could represent a novel therapeutic target in Alzheimer’s disease.
“We don’t have great therapeutics in Alzheimer's disease yet, and part of that reason is due to a lack of this complete understanding of the cell types and the biochemical cascades involved,” said Haney. “And so this research is both looking at establishing those mechanisms, but also revealing novel therapeutic targets as well as novel biomarkers that can detect disease onset earlier and track treatment and progression.”
Learn more about Dr. Haney's research here: