Education

Dr. Lisa-Marie Munter obtained a Dr. rer. nat. degree in Biochemistry at the Freie Universit盲t Berlin in 2007. Her postdoctoral years were spent at the University of Melbourne in the department of Pathology and the Freie Universit盲t Berlin (2007-2012). She joined the department of Pharmacology at 不良研究所 in August 2012.

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Research

Research Focus: Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and the physiological function of APP.

My research interests focus around the molecular pathways leading to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) causatively link APP to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, however, its physiological function is still incompletely understood. APP is cleaved by several proteases and we have identified a new, additional protease cleaving APP, i.e. the rhomboid-related protein 4 (RHBDL4). RHBDL4鈥檚 activity is regulated by cellular cholesterol levels, potentially linking this pathway to cholesterol as an established risk factor for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Furthermore, the cholesterol transporter apolipoprotein E variant 4 (ApoE4) is genetically causatively linked to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, again an incompletely understood molecular pathway. My goals are to: 1) fully reveal the physiological function of APP utilizing the RHBDL4-mediated processing pathway, and 2) to understand cellular cholesterol distribution in the brain in relation to ApoE4 and other cholesterol-transporting proteins. My team utilizes appropriate cell culture and mouse models and a wide range of core facility tools available at 不良研究所 including mass spectrometry, fluorescent and electron microscopy, histology, FACS, the transgenic animal core, PET imaging and metabolomics. Our gained knowledge will inform us to develop new therapeutic strategies to prevent the onset of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.