University of Notre Dame · ChemistryTau Dynamics Lab
Juan R Del Valle · Notre Dame, Indiana
Research Focus
Dr. Juan R Del Valle's research lab focuses on understanding tau protein, which is associated with neurodegenerative diseases affecting memory and cognitive function. The lab develops synthetic peptides that mimic the structure of misfolded tau to investigate how these proteins propagate in the brain and contribute to disease progression. Their innovative approach aims to generate tools that can help in the early diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.
tau proteinneurodegenerative diseasespeptidomimeticsprotein aggregationamyloid seeding
Research Aims
4AIM 01Develop macrocyclic peptides that mimic pathological tau structures.
AIM 02Test the ability of these peptides to seed tau aggregation in cells.
AIM 03Use structural techniques to confirm the assembly of peptides into disease-relevant conformations.
AIM 04Generate antibodies that specifically target pathological tau forms.
Skills the Lab Values
chemical synthesispeptide library constructionstructural biology techniquescryo-electron microscopycell culture
Output against the department
Publications79bottom 15% of dept.183rd of 216
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations1.7kbottom 12% of dept.191st of 216
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.