RESEARCH PROFILE

Tauopathies such as Alzheimer's Disease are one of the most serious diseases facing our ageing population. We are utilising the powerful genetic abilities of the fruitfly, Drosophila, to model tauopathies and discover novel genetic and pharmacological intervention strategies to ameliorate tau mediated neuronal death.
We have a long standing interest also in how identified neural networks are formed within the complexities of a large nervous system. To do this we are using , Drosophila, to study an amenable neural network, the giant fibre system.
The giant fibre system mediates the light-off escape reflex in the fly. (see Buzz)

We have developed enhancer-trap markers to follow the development of this neural network through embryogenesis, larval and pupal life.

In addition we use expression systems to disrupt the neural network and ask the physiological consequences of such manipulations in vivo.

We are currently interested in studying the function of a number of genes we have isolated that are expressed within the circuit.

BACKGROUND

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

• Drosophila melanogaster as a model for Alzheimer's Disease, with Professor Bruno G Frenguelli - Biological Sciences, Funded by: MRC, Project Start Date: 25/01/2010 Project End Date: 24/01/2013
• Investigating the Role of Drosophilia Ubiquitin Ligases in Alternative Splicing, Funded by: Royal Society, Project Start Date: 01/10/2010 Project End Date: 30/09/2012
  
  

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Eddison M. Guarnieri .DJ, Cheng L. Liu C.H., Moffat K.G. Davis G. Heberlein U.(2011) 'arouser reveals a role for synapse number in the regulation of ethanol sensitivity' Neuron 70 (5), 979 - 990 (0896-6273) [article]
• Vidya Pawar, Antara De, Laura Briggs, Mahmoud M Omar, Sean T Sweeney, J Michael Lord, Lynne M Roberts, Robert A Spooner, Kevin G Moffat.(2011) 'RNAi screening of Drosophila (Sophophora) melanogaster S2 cells for ricin sensitivity and resistance' Journal of Biomolecular Screening 16 (4), 436 - 442 (1087-0571) [article]
• Price, N. T., Jackson, V. N., Müller, J., Moffat, K., Matthews, K. L., Orton, T. and Zammit, V. A.(2010) 'Alternative exon usage in the single CPT1 gene of Drosophila generates functional diversity in the kinetic properties of the enzyme: differential expression of alternatively spliced variants in Drosophila tissues.' Journal Of Biological Chemistry 285 (11), 7857 - 7865 (0021-9258)
• Moffat, K. G.(2008) 'Drosophila genetics for the analysis of neurobiological disease' in Drosophila: a toolbox for the study of neurodegenerative disease, 9 - 24, Editors: Mudher, A. and Newman, T. A. (9780415411851), New York ; Abingdon: Taylor and Francis
• Muraro, N. I., Weston, A. J., Gerber, A. P., Luschnig, S., Moffat, K. G. and Baines, R. A.(2008) 'Pumilio binds para mRNA and requires nanos and brat to regulate sodium current in drosophila motoneurons' Journal of Neuroscience 28 (9), 2099 - 2109 (0270-6474) [article]

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