Janice E.A. Braun

I am engaged in a number of research initiatives with a primary focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms of chaperones in synaptic transmission (information transfer in the central nervous system). Recently, remarkable strides have been made in elucidating molecular chaperones, the cellular machinery whose function is to ensure that proteins achieve and maintain their (functional) conformations. The chaperone machinery maintains the correct balance between efficient and complete folding of proteins with the degradation of misfolded species. Since chaperones normally prevent the accumulation of misfolded proteins, the appearance of protein aggregates in the brain in neurodegenerative disorders (eg prion disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease) implies an underlying incapacity in the chaperone machinery. I want to understand how chaperones are involved in normal neural function and what role they play in neurodegenerative disorders.

Key words describing research:

chaperones, CSP, Hsp40, J proteins, synaptic function, protein aggregates

Techniques used in your labratory: 

Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry

Research Funding:

Alzheimer Society of Alberta and the Northwest Territories (ASANT)

Alberta Prion Research Institute

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Alberta Innovates Health Solutions