Dr Mariaelena Repici

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Scientific Background

Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to neuronal death and neurodegeneration in central nervous system diseases. I am particularly interested in mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease by elucidating the cellular functions of DJ-1 – a protein linked to rare inherited forms of Parkinson’s. This work may ultimately provide insight into novel therapeutic strategies for this disorder.

Research Groups

Biosciences Research Group (BRG)

Aston Research Centre for Health in Ageing (ARCHA)

Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN)

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: Supportive, goal-driven, organised.

Provision of Training

You will be guided for your technical training at first, leading to more independence later. Your training will be supervised predominantly by me or my experienced people in the lab.

Progression Monitoring and Management

I will expect you to take full ownership of your progression but come to me when you need help troubleshooting.

I like to be kept up to date, and will expect to see evidence of method development/data generation results on a weekly basis.

I am here for advice and guidance to help you reach the goals you set for yourself.

Communication

I am happy to discuss any issues that are impacting your ability to fulfil your potential or my/our expectations.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting

At least once per week

In year 1 of PhD study

At least once per week

In year 2 of PhD study

At least once per week

In year 3 of PhD study

At least once per fortnight

These meetings will be mainly face to face, and I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Working Pattern

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings), I expect students to manage their own time

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 2 weeks' notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Current Projects (2025-26)

Primary supervisor for:

Lipid homeostasis alteration in Parkinson’s disease

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Lipid homeostasis alteration in Parkinson’s disease

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Ivana Milic

University of Registration: Aston University

BBSRC Research Themes: Understanding the Rules of Life (Neuroscience and Behaviour)

Project Outline

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, and currently no effective pharmacological interventions exist for its treatment. While protein aggregation has been extensively studied in PD, lipid homeostasis (alterations in lipid metabolism and the balance of their species), is also deeply associated with neurodegeneration in PD but molecular mechanisms involved are still poorly understood (Leon and Outeiro, 2023). Interestingly, staining of postmortem brain sections from PD individuals showed that dopaminergicneurons in the Substantia Nigra accumulated lipids while astrocytes had a decreased lipid content (Brekk et al, 2020)], suggesting a cell dependent alteration of lipid homeostasis in the central nervous system.

We will utilise human iPSC derived neurons and astrocytes derived from both wild-type iPSC or iPSC carrying PD causative mutations to determine the contribution lipid homeostasis to the disease process. We will analyse the lipid subclasses and the protein palmitoylation (a protein post translational modification driven by fatty acids) in control and oxidative stress conditions in single cell culture and in co-cultures, to better understand the relevance of lipid homeostasis in the initiation and propagation of disease. This comprehensive mass spectrometry analysis will be done on our novel and uniquely designed state-of-the-art multi-omics ‘Ascend’ platform.

This work will enable to identify alterations in lipid metabolism and the role of lipid species in PD, and represents a unique opportunity to for the identification of new therapeutic strategies for PD.

References

Flores-Leon M, Outeiro TF. More than meets the eye in Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies: from proteinopathy to lipidopathy. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 Sep;146(3):369-385.

Brekk OR, Honey JR, Lee S, Hallett PJ, Isacson O (2020) Cell type-specifc lipid storage changes in Parkinson’s disease patient brains are recapitulated by experimental glycolipid disturbance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117:27646–27654.

Co-supervisor on projects with Dr John Reynolds and Dr Zita Balklava.

Previous Projects (2024-25)

Primary supervisor for:

Role of astrocytes in Parkinson’s Disease: focus on intercellular communication

Co-supervisor on projects with Dr Zita Balklava, Dr Ivana Milic, and Dr John J Reynolds.