My group's research is focussed on the hereditary spastic paraplegias, genetic conditions where the corticospinal tract axons degenerate. HSPs selectively involve axons while sparing the neuronal cell bodies, so we study them to understand molecular mechanisms crucial for axonal maintenance and degeneration. Our research has evolved from gene mapping and identification studies to concentrate on cell biological studies, particularly in the area of the role of HSP proteins in membrane traffic. The overall aim of this research is to understand the normal function of selected HSP proteins, to determine how abnormality of these functions leads to the disease, and to use this knowledge to rationally design new therapeutic strategies for the disorder.
