The Wang Lab at WWU

The Wang Lab uses the fruit fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) to study molecular mechanisms that change with age 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 and mitochondrial disease. 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, the mechanisms by which naturally occurring modifiers of Alzheimer’s disease affect Aβ42- and Tau-induced toxicity, and identifying the mechanisms by which mitochondrial dysfunction lead to activation of the innate immune response.