Doctoral Candidate Position 2 - German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Characterizing the alpha-synuclein/membrane assemblies as a driver of inflammation in Lewy body (dis)assembly
Asima is a doctoral researcher in Molecular Neuroscience at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), working in the laboratory of Dr. Dragomir Milovanovic. Her research focuses synaptic protein organization in physiology and pathology. She has gained multidisciplinary experience in immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization assays, recombinant protein expression and advanced microscopy. She has worked extensively with primary neuronal cultures, iPSC-derived neurons, and human tissues, allowing her to connect molecular techniques with biologically relevant systems.
Before joining DZNE, Asima worked as a Postgraduate Associate at Yale University, where she investigated how Ataxin-2 polyglutamine expansions alter RNA–protein interactions and drive TDP-43 mislocalization in ALS. She also gained translational and leadership experience as Assistant Manager at Zeusnjove Diagnostics in India, where she led a team to implement advanced diagnostic testing platforms.
Description of project
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. Increasing evidence points to mitochondrial dysfunction as a key factor in PD pathology, with damaged mitochondria contributing to immune activation and neuroinflammation. In this context, the aim of the project is to determine how the alpha-synuclein/membrane assemblies affect the inflammation responses of macrophages and microglia in the context of Lewy body pathology.
Lewy body-like inclusions will be reconstituted in vitro using recombinant proteins and isolated organelles. The candidate will capitalize on the newly emerging principles of phase separation in biology to recapitulate the formation of pathological inclusions independently of the pre-formed fibrils of alpha-synuclein. The formation of these will be studied using live-cell microscopy and reconstitution approaches (model membranes, synthetic biology). The candidate will use these approaches for characterizing how the aberrant inclusions disrupt blood-isolated macrophages and microglia, both with anti- and pro-inflammatory activation.