ABOUT

The Donnelly lab is in the department of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a member of the LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research in the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute. We study the biology underlying neurodegenerative diseases with a particular interest in understanding neuronal death observed in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). A feature of neurodegenerative diseases is intracellular protein inclusions or clumping. One area of interest is understanding the molecular triggers that initiate inclusion formation and to identify ways to stop these from forming. In addition, we are interested in understanding genetic causes that contribute to these diseases. The ultimate goal of our work is to uncover biological mechanisms that might be targeted to slow or stop these fatal disorders.