Biology

Prof. Prabhas V. Moghe
Rutgers University, USA

The Moghe lab at Rutgers is focused on engineering biological processes using synthetic biomaterials.  In my talk, I will highlight for the IISER community two current major research initiatives related to developing new approaches for treating diseases of the brain.  The first project is on the use of 3-D biomaterials for dual use of stem cell reprogramming to human neurons and transplantation to the brain (Carlson et al., Nature Communications, 2016).  The goal is to enable the transplantation of dense neuronal networks to the brain with functional sub-type specificity, for example, dopaminergic neurons to address dopamine deficiency in Parkinsons’ Disease.  In the second project, we have identified a new mechanism of action for the clearance and aggregation of the protein, alpha-synuclein, and have advanced a new class of nanotherapeutics for the disruption of alpha-synuclein deposits in the brain microglia, which can ameliorate neurotoxicity underlying neurodegenerative diseases (Bennett et al., Biomaterials, 2016).