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Disease Biology

C. elegans model of aggregation-prone SOD1 mutant protein. Green - SOD1-YFG fusion protein, 127x mutant; red - muscle actin. By Tali Gidalevitz

Our research aims to understand and treat a variety of human diseases. Our faculty use a range of model systems and experimental approaches to discover the underlying causes of human disease and devise new therapeutic strategies. Faculty work on neurodegenerative and protein aggregation diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); developmental disorders such as Fragile X syndrome, autism, CHARGE syndrome and Pitt-Hopkins; multiple forms of cancer; spinal cord injury; and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Biology faculty collaborate with clinical and basic scientists from the Drexel College of Medicine, which focuses on translational, bench-to-bedside research.

Faculty Conducting Research in Disease Biology

Contact Specialization
Dr. John Bethea
Professor
PISB 123.04
jrb445@drexel.edu
Felice Elefant , Ph.D.
Professor
PISB 317
fe22@drexel.edu

My research program is focused on understanding epigenetic mechanisms that govern higher order brain function via chromatin packaging in neurons.

Denise Garcia
Associate Professor
PISB 422
adg82@drexel.edu
Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
Tali Gidalevitz
Associate Professor
PISB 418
Tali.gidalevitz@drexel.edu

My lab aims to understand the mechanisms that maintain healthy protein folding environment in the cell, and how they fail in neurodegenerative diseases and aging. We use genetic and live imaging approaches in a genetically tractable organism, C. elegans, as discovery tools, and apply the findings to mammalian systems.

Nianli Sang, M.B., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
PISB 417
nianli.sang@drexel.edu
Molecular, Cellular and Biochemical Bases of Major Human Diseases
Aleister Saunders, PhD
Executive Vice Provost for Research & Innovation; Professor
104 Left Bank
Aleister.Saunders@drexel.edu
Biochemistry, Genetics, Molecular/Cellular Biology