Research

genetics of neurodegeneration

Germline and somatic pathogenic variants contributing to neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis are underidentified in neurology clinics. We combine approaches in molecular biology and neuropathology to close this gap.

Pathways of vulnerability

We use model systems and human postmortem tissue to probe mechanisms of neurodegeneration, elucidating connections between life-history factors and selective vulnerability.

Genomic therapeutics

Genome editing has the potential to not only correct pathogenic variants, but also modify factors driving selective vulnerability. We build and develop genome editing approaches to mitigate degeneration in vulnerable cells.

evolutionary medicine

The patterns and processes underlying evolution provide a useful framework to uncover the fundamentals of complex diseases. We employ a comparative framework to inform on pressures driving selective vulnerability.

Funding

If you are interested in supporting our work, please reach out to Dr. Ehrenberg at ehrenberg@berkeley.edu