Dr Emma Brock

My research is focused on creating a map of alpha-synuclein oligomers in the human brain with the aim of improve understanding of the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. Large alpha-synuclein aggregates are commonly used as an indicator for Parkinson's disease, however quantification of small aggregate numbers and spatial distributions in situ in human brain is limited. I primarily use confocal spinning disk microscopy combined with immunohistochemistry techniques to image these small alpha-synuclein aggregates within human brain tissue. This includes the both the macro-scale distribution of oligomers in different brain regions and their relative position compared to different brain cell types. I work within a highly disciplinary and collaborative team that makes this interesting work possible. The project is part of and funded by the the Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) scheme.