A New View of Neurodegeneration
Neurodegenerative diseases and conditions involve damage to or death of the brain’s neuron cells. These diseases affect more than half a million Canadians and 48 million people worldwide. With an aging population and no treatments to prevent or stop neuron damage, the number of people with neurodegeneration is rapidly increasing.
Dr. Hyun Lee, Canada Research Chair in Biomolecular Phase Transitions in Cellular Repair, is applying her unique expertise in the latest microscopy techniques to study fundamental cellular events in sharp detail, including in live cells and model organisms.
Lee was the first to show a link between the deregulation of essential cellular compartments (called “membrane-less organelles”) and neurodegeneration. The discovery of these organelles propelled researchers like Lee to explore their functions in the human body and try to figure out what potential they may hold for treating people with neurodegeneration.
Using live imaging techniques on patient sample cells in her lab, Lee and her research team are studying precisely how these organelles are regulated in healthy brain cells and how they become unregulated in a damaged state. Their work will help answer fundamental questions about how these organelles contribute to neuron death, how aging affects their function, and whether there are ways to stop and start these processes to repair neuron cells.
Ultimately, Lee is advancing research in brain disease and aging, driving the development of targeted treatments for neurodegeneration, and contributing to healthier, disease-free aging for people worldwide.