To Fold or Not to Fold?  Protein Quality Control Gone Awry – Lessons from Cancer, Diabetes, Aging, and Chronic Disease

Jeyanthi Ramasubbu

Date(s) – 08/27/19
8:30 am – 10:30 am

Event Description:
Aberrant protein processing is an underlying mechanism of neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Dementia and many more. Protein quality control, which includes proper expression, folding, transport and clearance is critical for cellular function and organismal health. When cell defense fails and proteostasis malfunctions, is it doom time for healthy cells? Protein misfolding has long been associated with neurodegenerative diseases, but interestingly, it’s also a common feature in some chronic metabolic and oncogenic diseases such as type II diabetes, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and certain cancers. Aging and longevity are invariably tied to changes in protein management systems such as chaperones and clearance networks. How are these diverse chronic diseases as well as aging and health correlated? Are alterations in protein quality control a cause or consequence of disease and aging? Can protein homeostasis machinery rescue dysfunctional cells in chronic diseases and restore good health? What are the possible therapeutic strategies to maintain proteostasis?

Event Speaker Bio:

Jeyanthi Ramasubbu has more than 20 years of scientific and leadership experience in drug discovery, development and drug delivery. Jeyanthi joined the founding team at ALS Therapy Development Institute, a nonprofit biotech based in Boston and helped grow the organization as the world’s largest biotech focused on ALS research. As Associate Director, Pharmacology, she was a key player in establishing the Discovery Research Program and leading >40 scientific collaborations with academia and industry, both in the US and globally. She was selected as a Finalist for the ‘Academic Scientist of the Year Award” by Informa Sciences for outstanding contribution to pharmaceutical research. Prior to pivoting to drug discovery, she served as Senior Scientist in multiple biotech firms developing biodegradable drug delivery systems. She holds patents on novel, programmable microsphere delivery systems using poly(lactide/glycolide) polymers for modulating drug release over variable durations from few days to several months. Jeyanthi has a PhD in Biochemistry and obtained post-doctoral training with Prof. Patrick DeLuca, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky. Her interests include understanding the role of proteome and proteostasis in health and disease and developing patient-centric solutions to slow, prevent or stop chronic diseases.