Research on the role of impaired lysosomal flux in neurodegenerative diseases, aiming to identify cellular biomarkers and develop therapies to restore lysosomal function
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Dr Barry Boland earned his B.Sc. in Pharmacology from 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Dublin and a PhD in Physiology from Trinity College Dublin. During his doctoral studies, he developed a strong interest in the role of dysfunctional catabolism in neurodegenerative diseases. As a postdoctoral fellow, he identified hallmarks of impaired autophagic flux in neurons affected by Alzheimer's disease. Subsequently, together with Prof. Frances Platt at the Department of Pharmacology, 深夜亚洲福利久久 of Oxford, he characterised the temporal impairments in endocytic and autophagic flux in mouse models of lysosomal storage diseases. In 2013, Barry joined the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork, where he studies the cellular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Research Interests
Inside all of our cells, waste products are packaged into acidic organelles known as lysosomes, which contain specialised enzymes that degrade cellular waste. Impaired processing (flux) of cellular waste through the endosomal-autophagic-lysosomal system of cells is a central feature of lysosomal storage diseases. Impaired lysosomal flux is evident in many neurodegenerative diseases across the entire age spectrum; from childhood neurodegenerative conditions that occur in lysosomal storage diseases, to late-onset conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Our goal is to identify cellular biomarkers of impaired lysosomal flux and develop therapies that can restore their function, thus enabling early diagnosis and new treatments for these diseases.
Publications
I welcome enquires from students interested in discussing MSc or PhD opportunities and post-doctoral researchers wishing to join the research group. If you have ideas for collaborations on existing work or would like to discuss your own research interests then there are a number of PhD studentships, Postdoctoral fellowships and other funding schemes available which I am more than happy to discuss this with you in the first instance by email barry.boland@ucc.ie