On May 12, 2023, the CRCHUM Interdisciplinary Conference will host Alex Parker, researcher in the Neuroscience Research Theme and is Alex Parker is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Université de Montréal.

Research into motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), remains vital due to the lack of effective treatments and the considerable variation in disease onset and progression. A significant component of ALS pathology is axonal degeneration occurring in the early stages of the disease. Utilizing model organisms like C. elegans offers a promising approach to unravelling underlying disease mechanisms. Here Alex Parker will highlight work identifying metabolic and cell signalling mechanisms that drive the degeneration of motor neurons in an aging nervous system.

Alex Parker is a Professor of the Department of Neuroscience at the Université de Montréal, and a researcher at the CRCHUM. Alex Parker is a geneticist by training with an interest on late-onset neurodegenerative diseases. His laboratory uses the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to construct simple genetic models of neurodegenerative diseases. A major focus of his laboratory has been the development of models for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for use in drug discovery and development, with translation to clinical settings.

The goal of the Interdisciplinary conferences is to allow you to learn more about the work of our researchers and to encourage collaborations among the Research Centre’s different Research Themes.

They are intended for the entire scientific community of the CRCHUM and are offered two to three times per month.