Marc Diamond Lab We are trying to understand the mechanisms that underlie neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein amyloids, so that we can develop accurate, presymptomatic diagnosis and effective therapy.
Disease derives from perturbation of normal physiology, and thus it is likely that the basic processes that underlie pathogenesis will have implications for understanding the role in normal cell biology of protein clustering and conformational change based on structural templates.
We are “question-driven,” not “technique-driven,” and we strive to create cutting-edge approaches, aggressively developing and adapting technologies to answer biological questions as they emerge.
We believe that it is not possible to model or investigate disease without integrated, interdisciplinary strategies. Consequently, we study neurodegeneration at all levels, employing biophysics, biochemistry, cell biology, animal models, and patient-derived samples.
Our general strategy is to develop quantitative metrics to address a cellular or molecular question, derive a mechanistic hypothesis, and test predictions in animal models and patient samples. We foster a dynamic, rigorous, creative, and supportive intellectual environment for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.