Todd
Cohen

The Cohen Lab is focused on the molecular mechanisms that underlie protein aggregation, which include diseases of the brain (Alzheimer’s disease) and spinal cord (ALS). We typically approach problems by defining the relevant molecular pathways (using biochemistry and molecular biology) that promote the formation (or dissolution) of toxic aggregates that are often considered defining hallmarks of neurodegenerative disorders. We use any and all approaches to solve these problems including proteomics, cell biology, genetics, and considerable in vivo animal modeling. We identified several mechanisms that drive the tau protein to behave pathologically in Alzheimer’s disease, leading to both loss of normal tau function and gain of tau toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease. Our work has raised the intriguing possibility that we devise specific and novel anti-aggregate therapies to suppress brain pathologies, not just in Alzheimer’s, but potentially a range of different types of dementia and possibly even during normal aging. Ultimately, our philosophy is that uncovering the mechanistic details that surround protein aggregation in “vulnerable” cell types will foster the development of new therapies against these debilitating diseases. This has led us down an exciting path to identify genetic modifiers, resiliency factors, immunotherapies, and gene therapies capable of targeting tau and reversing the neurodegenerative cascade.