News

New Tourette disorder genes come to light

By Michele Solis (UCSF News)

In the largest DNA sequencing study of Tourette Disorder (TD) to date, UC San Francisco researchers and their collaborators have unearthed new data suggesting a potential role for disruptions in cell polarity in the development of this condition. 

In their new study, published online September 25, 2018 in Cell Reports the researchers focused on “de novo” mutations, or rare mutations that arise anew at conception, rather than being inherited from parents... Read more ...
The mission of the Psychiatric Cell Map Initiative (PCMI) is to bridge the gap between the genome and clinic in the field of neuropsychiatric disorder research by systematically mapping the physical and genetic interaction networks underlying these disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, Tourette disorder, epilepsy, intellectual disability, and schizophrenia. This will form a key resource for precision medicine.

NIH funds UCSF-led initiative to chart a course toward new psychiatric drugs

By Dana Smith (UCSF News)

Scientists have struggled for decades to... Read more ...

Dr. Xiaoyan Guo, IND Postdoctoral Fellow
Kampmann Lab

Dr. Xiaoyan Guo, IND postdoctoral fellow in the Kampmann lab, was awarded a fellowship by the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation. In her research, Xiaoyan investigates how mitochondria, famously dubbed the “powerhouse of the cell”, adapt to stress. Mitochondrial stress and dysfunction is a hallmark of aging and many neurodegenerative diseases. As a PhD student in Dr. Rene Garcia’s lab, Xiaoyan discovered... Read more ...

Kampmann Lab and collaborators identify the molecules mediating the uptake of tau into cells

The prion-like spreading of tau aggregation is thought to drive progression of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and other so-called “tauopathies”. The mechanisms by which tau aggregates spread between cells are unclear – but an understanding of the specific molecular players may provide us with potential therapeutic targets that inhibit disease progression. The lab of IND faculty Dr. Martin Kampmann collaborated with the groups of Dr. Ken Kosik (UC Santa Barbara) and Dr. Linda Hsieh-Wilson (Caltech) to identify the molecules mediating the uptake of tau into cells: a specific type of sugar on cell surface proteins, 6-O-sulfated... Read more ...

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