Welcome to the Gunawardena Lab
Laboratory of axonal transport in neurodegenerative disease​
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Our laboratory is interested in understanding the regulatory control mechanisms of axonal transport within long caliber axons in vivo. The fundamental question our lab is interested in is whether defects in axonal transport are an early precursor in neurodegenerative disease, and how such defects can initiate a “domino effect” that ultimately contributes to neuronal death and degeneration.
Whole mount 3rd instar larvae expressing GFP shows entire larval nervous system
We primarily use in vivo imaging and computational analysis coupled with Drosophila genetics and biochemistry. Differentiated neurons from iPSCs from Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease patients are also employed.
Differentiated neuron from iPSC from a normal individual stained with neuronal markers