Project: Elucidating the molecular basis of gene silencing by an ORC-HP1 interaction and their contribution to human health disorders

Project: Elucidating the molecular basis of gene silencing by an ORC-HP1 interaction and their contribution to human health disorders. Principal Investigator: Christian Speck, Imperial College London, Department Name: Institute of Clinical Sciences. Funded Period: sep 14 - ago 17

We will analyse the effect of ORC-HP1 interactions for its normal role in cells and in the context of the epigenetic disease, Friedreich's Ataxia, to understand the functional relevance of the complex.

Neurodegenerative Diseases and Therapeutic Strategies using Iron chelators

Neurodegenerative Diseases and Therapeutic Strategies using Iron chelators. Roberta J. Ward, David T. Dexter, Robert R. Crichton, Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, Available online 22 January 2015, ISSN 0946-672X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2014.12.012.

Preliminary results from trials of iron chelation therapy in these neurodegenerative diseases is reviewed.

Genome-Engineering Tools to Establish Accurate Reporter Cell Lines That Enable Identification of Therapeutic Strategies to Treat Friedreich’s Ataxia

Genome-Engineering Tools to Establish Accurate Reporter Cell Lines That Enable Identification of Therapeutic Strategies to Treat Friedreich’s Ataxia. Rodrigo Villaseñor, Loren Miraglia, Angelica Romero, Buu Tu, Tanel Punga, Philip Knuckles, Stephan Duss, Tony Orth, and Marc Bühler; J Biomol Screen 1087057114568071, first published on January 23, 2015 as doi:10.1177/1087057114568071


Rational design of small-molecule inhibitors of the identified frataxin repressors and/or high-throughput screening of large siRNA or compound libraries with our system may yield treatments for Friedreich’s ataxia.