University of Southern California · PhysiologyHuntington's Disease Research Unit
Ralf Langen · Los Angeles, California
Research Focus
Dr. Ralf Langen's lab at the University of Southern California focuses on understanding Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the misfolding of the huntingtin protein. The lab studies how these misfolded proteins form aggregates and explores potential therapies to inhibit their formation and reduce toxicity in cells. A key part of their research involves using advanced imaging techniques to identify the structure of early misfolded protein species and developing peptides that could serve as both biomarkers and therapeutic agents.
Huntington's Diseaseprotein misfoldingneurodegenerationpeptide therapeuticsaggregation inhibitionstructural biologybiophysical methodscellular assayscryo-EMbiomarkers
Research Aims
3AIM 01Determine the structures of key misfolded conformers of the huntingtin protein.
AIM 02Develop peptides that can inhibit the aggregation of huntingtin and protect cells from toxicity.
AIM 03Investigate how molecular chaperones recognize and bind to misfolded huntingtin conformers.
Skills the Lab Values
NMR spectroscopycryo-electron microscopyEPR spectroscopyprotein expression and purificationcell culture techniquesbiochemical assaysfluorescence microscopypeptide designcomputational modelinganimal models
Output against the department
Publications162top 44% of dept.127th of 286
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations13ktop 24% of dept.69th of 286
this lab
most citedleast cited
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