Mohammad Shahnawaz
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
McGovern Medical School
Department of Neurology
Our research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of neurodegenerative diseases associated with misfolding and accumulation of proteins implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Currently, we are actively working on two main projects: (1) Development of a sensitive method to detect misfolded oligomers in biological fluids to be used as possible markers for early diagnosis of AD and PD. (2) Characterization of alpha-synuclein strains/sub-strains derived from patients with PD and other synucleinopathies using a variety of biochemical, biophysical, structural (CD-spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Cryo-Electron Microscopy) and biological (differentiated neurons and glial cells derived from iPSCs and animal models of PD) methods.
Besides, to expand the understanding of possible mechanism(s) involved in these diseases and to develop early therapeutic approach, we are working on the isolation and characterization of toxic aggregates from human AD and PD brains and evaluating their cytotoxic effects in different types of human neurons in vitro.
McGovern Medical School Faculty
Education & Training
PhD, Chosun University, 2008