Protein Aggregation and Neurocircuit Dysfunction in Central Nervous System Diseases - College of Engineering - Purdue University

Project Description

This research utilizes a unique optics laboratory in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering for the study of neuron and animal models to address fundamental neuroscience questions and involves campus-wide collaborations. The work will involve a combination of experimental (optical and biochemical), theoretical, and computational facets. There are two primary thrusts. One relates to developing insight into the formation of protein aggregates (alpha synuclein for Parkinson's disease and tau for Alzheimer's disease), and the basis for aggregate propagation across brain regions. This understanding will lead to engineering of treatment options. The other related work involves the study of neuron signaling and communication, nominally through calcium channel activity. Both protein aggregation and neuron signaling can be monitored using fluorescent reporters. Notably, the work builds on contributions from a long-term collaboration between the Webb and Rochet groups, including protein labeling methods and the discovery of a method to image fluorescence resonance energy transfer parameters deep within the brain in vivo. The post-doctoral fellow will develop skills and build an academic record that will place him/her in a commanding position for an academic position in this rapidly developing field.

Start Date

2026

Postdoc Qualifications

Ph.D. in engineering, physics, chemistry, or a related field with an emphasis on neuorengineering/neuroscience.

Co-advisors

Kevin Webb (ECE) and Chris Rochet (MCMP and PIIN Director)

Bibliography

1. P.-M. Ivey, M. Guzman Sosa, A. Salem, S. Min, W. Qi, M. Guzman Sosa, T. L. Kinzer-Ursem, J.-C. Rochet, and K. J. Webb, “Mechanisms of alpha-synuclein-seeded aggregation in neurons revealed by fluorescence lifetime imaging,” ACS Chem. Neurosci. 16, 2128 (2025).
2. P.-M. Ivey, A. Salem, S. Min, W. Qi, A. N. Scott, K. F. K. Ejendal, T. L. Kinzer-Ursem, J.-C. Rochet, and K. J. Webb, “A FRET-based FLIM method to probe membrane-induced alpha-synuclein aggregation in neurons,” bioRxiv 2024—12 (2024).
3. K. A. Conway, S.-J. Lee, J.-C. Rochet, Jean-Christophe, D. T. Ding, R. E. Williamson, and P. Lansbury, “Acceleration of oligomerization, not fibrillization, is a shared property of both alpha-synuclein mutations linked to early-onset Parkinson's disease: implications for pathogenesis and therapy,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 97, 571 (2000).
4. V. Gaind, S. Kularatne, P. S. Low, and K. J.Webb, "Deep tissue imaging of intramolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer parameters," Opt. Lett. 35, 1314 (2010).
5. B. Z. Bentz, S. M. Mahalingam, D. Ysselstein, P. C. Montenegro, J. R. Cannon, J.-C. Rochet, P. S. Low, and K. J. Webb, "Localization of fluorescent targets in deep tissue with expanded beam illumination for studies of cancer and the brain," IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 39, 2472 (2020).