Description of Research Expertise
The over-arching goal of our research is to better understand the mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease in order to intervene in these disease processes.
Our general approach is to use unbiased genomic- or proteomic-scale screens in human-derived materials to generate leads, which are then followed mechanistically in relevant systems including neuronal culture and in vivo animal models. The pace of technology development is allowing us to acquire more data, faster, than ever before, but this does not always translate into biological understanding. We believe that to unlock the true potential of leads generated in this way, computational methods must work hand-in-hand with bench-based manipulative experiments.
Selected Publications
Diaz-Ortiz ME, Seo Y, Posavi M, Carceles Cordon M, Clark E, Jain N, Charan R, Gallagher MD, Unger TL, Amari N, Skrinak RT, Davila-Rivera R, Brody EM, Han N, Zack R, Van Deerlin VM, Tropea TF, Luk KC, Lee EB, Weintraub D, Chen-Plotkin AS.: GPNMB confers risk for Parkinson's disease through interaction with α-synuclein Science 377 : eabk0637,2022.
Shen J, Amari N, Zack R, Skrinak RT, Unger TL, Posavi M, Tropea TF, Xie SX, Van Deerlin VM, Dewey RB Jr, Weintraub D, Trojanowski JQ, Chen-Plotkin AS.: Plasma MIA, CRP, and Albumin Predict Cognitive Decline in Parkinson's Disease Ann Neurol 92 (2): 255-269,2022.
Weintraub D, Posavi M, Fontanillas P, Tropea TF, Mamikonyan E, Suh E, Trojanowski JQ, Cannon P, Van Deerlin VM; 23andMe Research Team, Chen-Plotkin AS.: Genetic prediction of impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease Ann Clin Transl Neurol 9 (7): 936-949,2022.
Carceles-Cordon M, Weintraub D, Chen-Plotkin AS.: Cognitive heterogeneity in Parkinson's disease: A mechanistic view Neuron 111 : 1531-1546,2023.
Academic Contact Information
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
150 Johnson Pavilion
Philadelphia,
PA
19104
Phone: 215-829-6500
Patient appointments: 800-789-7366