Killam Seminar Series: Insights into inter-organelle contact site misregulation in neurodegenerative diseases
Supported by the generosity of the Killam Trusts, The Neuro's Killam Seminar Series invites outstanding guest speakers whose research is of interest to the scientific community at The Neuro and McGill University.
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Host: Edward A Fon
Insights into inter-organelle contact site misregulation in neurodegenerative diseases
Yvette Wong
PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
Abstract: Inter-organelle contact sites are important hubs which mediate the direct crosstalk between different organelles, and their misregulation may play a significant role in the etiology of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, Frontotemporal Dementia and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Using advanced Super-Resolution and live imaging approaches, we recently found that mitochondria-lysosome contact sites play key roles in regulating the bidirectional crosstalk of mitochondrial and lysosomal dynamics and function. In addition, mitochondria-lysosome contact sites are misregulated in genetic forms of Parkinson’s disease and the peripheral neuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Moreover, our ongoing studies have identified new roles for the misregulation of other inter-organelle contact sites in additional neurological disorders, including novel mechanisms regulating TDP-43 in ALS, and new pathways mediating the crosstalk between amyloid-β and tau in Alzheimer’s disease at contact sites. Importantly, these studies offer new insights into disease mechanisms and further highlight the significant role of inter-organelle contacts in neurodegeneration.
Dr. Yvette Wong's research uncovers new cellular functions of inter-organelle contact sites and their role in neurodegenerative diseases, utilizing advanced Super-Resolution live imaging. She received her BA from Cornell University, with a double major in Mathematics and Biology, and her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania under the guidance of Dr. Erika Holzbaur, a Professor of Physiology. During her PhD, Dr. Wong demonstrated that huntingtin regulates autophagosome axonal transport, identified ALS-associated optineurin as a mitophagy receptor, and discovered a new role for actin cycling in mitochondrial dynamics. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Wong conducted her postdoctoral training with Dr. Dimitri Krainc, Chair of Neurology at Northwestern University. There, she identified mitochondria-lysosome contact sites as a crucial hub that is misregulated in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and Parkinson’s disease. In 2020, she established her independent research lab at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Wong has been the recipient of the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the Warren Alpert Scholars Award in Neuroscience, and the NIH DP2 New Innovator Award.
