Dr Daniel Maddison

Daniel continued to obtain his PhD in the lab of Prof. Giorgini, investigating interactions between the Kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism and mitochondrial quality control mechanisms in Drosophila melanogaster and mamallian cell models. He identified a novel interaction between the enzyme Kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), a genetic modifier of Huntington's disease, with Parkinson's associated proteins PINK1 and PRKN. Upon completion of his PhD in 2018, Dr. Maddison joined the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at Cardiff University, as a Research Associate in the lab of Dr. Gaynor Smith. He studied mechanisms by which mitochondria are regulated in the nervous system, performing unbiased genetic screens in Drosophila to identify novel modulators of mitochondrial form and function. Daniel also has a strong interest in genetic risk factors for neurodegenerative disease and how these factors convey risk of developing disease. Now a Research Associate in the lab of Dr. Edward Avezov, Daniel is the investigating the use of nanobodies to control trafficking and processing of aggregate-prone proteins.