University of California-San Francisco · NeuroscienceKao Lab
Aimee Kao · San Francisco, California
Research Focus
Aimee Kao's research lab focuses on understanding the role of lysosomes in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia. The lab studies how specific protein fragments, known as PGRN species, influence the degradation of a harmful protein called TDP-43, especially as people age. By exploring these mechanisms, the lab aims to identify potential new treatments for these age-related disorders.
neurodegenerative diseasesTDP-43Alzheimer's diseasefrontotemporal dementialysosomal functionprotein degradationPGRN species
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate how PGRN species affect TDP-43 proteolysis in vitro.
AIM 02Assess the ability of induced neurons, astrocytes, and microglia to clear TDP-43 with and without Pgrn deficiency.
AIM 03Examine how aging and PGRN deficiency alter TDP-43 proteolysis in murine models.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsbiological assaysgene editing techniquesimmunofluorescenceRNA isolationWestern blottinginduced pluripotent stem cellsflow cytometry
Output against the department
Publications80bottom 23% of dept.518th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations3.8kbottom 29% of dept.479th of 671
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.