Investigator:
Benjamin Clayton, PhD
Name of Institution:
Case Western Reserve University – School of Medicine
Project Title:
Modulating Pathological Astrocytes to Promote Neuroprotection in PD
Investigator Bio:
Dr. Clayton is an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Glial Sciences and the Department of Genetics and Genomes Sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Clayton believes that medicines targeting glial cells represent an unrecognized opportunity for treating neurological diseases like Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Clayton lab designs advanced cellular platforms that can be used to investigate disease specific pathological glia and, in combination with unbiased chemical and genetic screening approaches, identify proteins and pathways that regulate the formation and function of pathological glia and can be developed as targets of glial targeted medicines.
Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Clayton holds a BS in Biology from the University of Utah. He obtained his PhD in Neurobiology from The University of Chicago working with Dr. Brian Popko to explore the role of the integrated stress response in hypoxic injury to glial cells. Dr. Clayton then moved to Case Western Reserve University to train as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Paul Tesar. As a postdoc, Dr. Clayton established a phenotypic screening platform for identifying small-molecule suppressors of pathological reactive astrocyte states. Dr. Clayton’s research has been recognized through awards from The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Cleveland Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, to further study the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of glia cell pathology in MS.
Objectives/Background:
The objective of this project is to identify factors that cause harmful overactivity in the brain support cells (glia) that are specific to PD.
Methods/Design:
We will leverage cell culture and broad testing methods that look for all possible causes to identify proteins and pathways that influence harmful changes in glial cells in PD.
Relevance to Diagnosis/Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease:
This work may identify new targets for medicines that could slow Parkinson’s disease progression by reducing harmful brain cell activity in glial cells that contributes to the disease.