The Zarnescu Lab moved from University of Arizona to Penn State College of Medicine on July 1, 2022. We research the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and seek to develop therapeutic strategies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related diseases (e.g., fronto-temporal dementia (FTD)) using various models systems including the fruit fly Drosophila, human cells and patient tissues. We take a “fly-to-human” approach whereby we use the fruit fly models of disease to discover novel targets, pathways or small molecules that we subsequently validate in human cells and/or tissues.

The lab has been continuously funded for >15 years by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, private foundations and generous donors. We are currently recruiting graduate students (MS, PhD, MD-PhD) and postdoctoral fellows. If interested in joining our research team, please contact Professor Daniela C Zarnescu, PhD at dcz102@psu.edu.