Andrew West
Lead PI (Core Leadership)
Co-PI (Core Leadership)
Duke University
Dr. West is a tenured Professor of Pharmacology at Duke University with secondary appointments in Neurology and Neurobiology. He currently directs the Duke Center for Neurodegeneration and Neurotherapeutic Research.
Teams
Themes
Tags
Seeding assays
Disease mechanisms
PD heterogeneity: alpha-synuclein seeding
Genomics
Fluid-based biomarkers
Genetic risk
Cryo-ET
Genetic interactions
Genetic variants
Fibril
Cryo-EM
Proteomics
Enteroendocrine cells
Pathology
Animal models
Protein aggregates
Alpha-synuclein
Gut-brain axis
Recent ASAP Preprints & Published Papers
Lewy body diseases and the gut
Gastrointestinal (GI) involvement in Lewy body diseases (LBDs) has been observed since the initial descriptions of patients by James Parkinson. Recent experimental and human observational studies raise the possibility that pathogenic alpha-synuclein (⍺-syn) might develop in the GI tract and subsequently spread to susceptible brain regions. The cellular and mechanistic…
Mouse α-synuclein fibrils are structurally and functionally distinct from human fibrils associated with Lewy body diseases
The intricate process of α-synuclein aggregation and fibrillization hold pivotal roles in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). While mouse α-synuclein can fibrillize in vitro, whether these fibrils commonly used in research to induce this process or form can reproduce structures in the human brain remains unknown. Here…
