The Palladino lab uses Drosophila and human cell lines as model systems to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases. The Palladino lab has identified numerous novel neurodegenerative mutants using forward genetics and developed these as unique disease models. The research program forces on metabolic disease and the neuromuscular dysfunction they produce with three main goals: 1) discovering and characterizing novel pathways that cause disease, 2) understanding the physiological, cellular, and molecular dysfunction that causes disease in vivo, and 3) using our animal system in pharmacological screens to identify neuroprotective compounds for the treatment of human diseases.
*Currently accepting graduate students