Baskar Bakthavachalu, Senior Scientist at TIGS, was awarded the Wellcome Trust DBT India Intermediate Fellowship for his work on the role of Ribonucleoprotein granules in neuronal function and neurodegeneration using Drosophila as a model organism. RNA granules are dynamic, cytoplasmic assemblies that provide microdomains for intracellular mRNA regulation. Several RNA binding proteins contain intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) capable of promoting irreversible protein assembly in vitro and in vivo. These protein aggregations are commonly observed in neurodegenerative conditions. Gain-of-function mutations in the IDRs have been shown to be associated with many forms of neurodegenerative disease, in particular, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
09Jan
