University of Colorado Boulder · ChemistryWalczak Neurodegeneration Lab
Maciej Walczak · Boulder, Colorado
Research Focus
Dr. Maciej Walczak's lab at the University of Colorado focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and developing new antifungal treatments. Researchers in the lab study how proteins like tau are modified by sugars (glycosylation) and how these changes can affect brain health and disease progression. The lab also explores effective strategies to combat fungal infections that are difficult to treat, specifically looking for novel antifungal agents against valley fever.
Alzheimer's diseasetau glycosylationneurodegenerationpost-translational modificationsantifungal agentsCoccidioideshyperglycemiaglycationbiophysical characterizationdisease pathology
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate the impact of glycosylation on tau protein function and aggregation.
AIM 02Explore the relationship between hyperglycemia and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease.
AIM 03Develop novel antifungal agents targeting the HOG MAPK pathway for better treatment of coccidioidomycosis.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturebiophysical analysisbiochemical assaysin vitro studieshigh-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)RNA isolationanimal modelsprotein characterizationcomputational modelingmicroscopy
Output against the department
Publications123bottom 27% of dept.157th of 216
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.4kbottom 17% of dept.179th 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.