The Wang Lab uses the fruit fly (D. melanogaster) to study age-related molecular mechanisms and how those mechanisms affect susceptibility to neurodegenerative disease.

Genetic studies from many model organisms have identified a number of pathways that modulate aging and lifespan across species, and we are interested in investigating how modifying these pathways influence the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

In particular, we are interested in:

• How Rapamycin, a drug that extends lifespan across species through inhibition of TOR, exerts its effects in mitochondrial disease
• Mechanisms by which naturally occurring modifiers of Alzheimer’s disease affect Aβ42- and Tau-induced toxicity
• Mechanisms by which mitochondrial dysfunction lead to activation of the innate immune response.