The Les Turner ALS Foundation Research Laboratory led by P. Hande Ozdinler, PhD, opened in October 2008. This lab focuses on the motor neurons which reside in the brain, and connect with motor neurons in the spinal cord to initiate and control movement. These two motor neuron populations progressively degenerate in ALS patients, and therefore require immediate attention.
Dr. Ozdinler is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and she is an affiliated faculty member to the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer Research Center, the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, and the Neurobiology Program at Children's Memorial Hospital. Much as the brain functions via complex, integrated networks, Dr. Ozdinler believes that scientists must work in integrated teams in order to bring an understanding to complex neurodegenerative diseases.
Partnerships Dr. Ozdinler has developed have already created many new avenues of research. Her collaborative efforts have the goal of identifying early detection markers in ALS, and developing neuron-specific genetic therapeutics to upper motor neurons. Since its establishment, Dr. Ozdinler's lab has received multiple awards and developed numerous new research tools, such as a novel reporter model, and an in vitro, small-scale drug screening platform using pure populations of upper motor neurons.
