Autophagy and Neurodegeneration


Join Prof. David Rubinsztein, Professor of Molecular Neurogenetics and Deputy Director of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research at the University of Cambridge, UK, as he talks us through the association between autophagy and neurodegeneration. 

Prof. Rubinsztein will discuss the role of autophagy in the clearance of misfolded proteins common to neurodegenerative disorders and how genetic evidence implicates this pathway in disease pathogenesis. He will further highlight how his research is helping advance our understanding of this molecular process and identify potential therapeutic intervention points.​ 

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​​Webinar objectives: 

  • Provide an overview of autophagy and its role in the clearance of proteins

  • ​Highlight the genetic association between autophagy and neurodegenerative disorders and outline how a perturbed autophagy pathway may contribute to disease pathobiology

  • ​Illustrate the therapeutic potential of targeting the autophagy pathway and discuss ongoing work in this area


About the presenter:
Prof. David Rubinsztein is the Professor of Molecular Neurogenetics and a UK Dementia Research Institute Professor at the University of Cambridge. He is Deputy Director of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research. Prof. Rubinsztein earned his MB ChB, BSc(Med)Hons, and PhD degrees from University of Cape Town. He came to Cambridge in 1993 as a Senior Registrar in genetic pathology and was the first person to complete formal training in this field in the UK. His research is focused in the field of autophagy, particularly in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. His laboratory pioneered the strategy of autophagy upregulation as a possible therapeutic approach in various neurodegenerative diseases, and has identified drugs and novel pathways that may be exploited for this objective. He has made contributions that reveal the relevance of autophagy defects as a disease mechanism and to the basic cell biology of this important catabolic process. David Rubinsztein was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2004), EMBO member (2011) and Fellow of the Royal Society (2017). He was awarded the Graham Bull Prize (2007), Thudichum Medal (2017), Roger de Spoelberch prize (2017) and the Goudie Medal (2020).