Prof. Avraham Ashkenazi
Research work
Our research utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to elucidate cellular mechanisms of neurological disorders. Some of these disorders progress late in life, such as Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease. A common characteristic in these disorders is the accumulation of proteins that are not folded properly and can form aggregates in cells.
We aim to elucidate novel regulatory pathways of protein homeostasis in cells to better understand the basis of these devastating diseases and to identify future therapeutic targets.
Areas of interest & scientific knowledge
Brain Disorders Research
Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience
Neurodevelopment and Neurogenetic Research
Selected Publications
- Sharabi, Y., Vatine, G. D., and Ashkenazi, A. (2021) Parkinson’s disease outside the brain: targeting the autonomic nervous system. Lancet Neurology 10, 868-876.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(21)00219-2/fulltext - Galves, M., Rathi, R., Prag, G. and Ashkenazi, A. (2019) Ubiquitin Signaling and Degradation of Aggregate-Prone Proteins. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 44, 872-884.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0968000419300878 - Ashkenazi, A., Bento, C. F., Ricketts, T., Vicinanza, M., Siddiqi, F., Pavel, M., Squitieri, F., Hardenberg, M. C., Imarisio, S., Menzies, F. M., and Rubinsztein, D. C. (2017) Polyglutamine tracts regulate beclin 1-dependent autophagy. Nature 545, 108–111. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22078
- Falik, D., Rabinski, T., Zlotnik, D., Eshel. R., Zorsky, M., Garin-Shkolnik, T., Ofir, R., Adato, Ashkenazi, A., Vatine. G.D. (2020) Generation and characterization of iPSC lines from two identical twins with poly-alanine expansion in the paired-like homeobox 2B (PHOX2B) gene. Stem Cell Research 48, 101955 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873506120302567
- Stok, R., and Ashkenazi, A. (2020) Lipids as the key to understanding α-synuclein behaviour in Parkinson disease. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 21, 357–358
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41580-020-0235-y
