Dr Richard Tuxworth
Research Interests
Richard Tuxworth is a cell biologist interested in disorders of the nervous system. He studies both early-onset inherited forms of neurodegeneration and the more common neurodegenerative disorders associated with old age. His laboratory is particularly interested in understanding how DNA damage impacts on nervous system function in neurological disease and finding out whether manipulating the response of cells to DNA damage could be used therapeutically.
DNA damage in neurological disease
Richard and colleagues in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences are investigating how accumulating DNA damage impacts on central nervous system function in chronic neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s diseases, and in acute neurological diseases, such after trauma. Richard’s group uses a combination of cell culture, biochemistry, genetics and genomics to understand the cell biology of neural responses to DNA damage and uses simple models of neurodegenerative disease developed in fruit flies to perform rapid surveys of potential new methods of intervention in neurological disease.
Lysosomal storage disorders and neural development
Lysosomes are low-pH organelles critical for recycling in cells and for coordination of growth and stress signalling. Lysosomes become dysfunctional in a large group of inherited syndromes known as the lysosomal storage disorders. Many result in neuropathology at a young age, including fatal childhood-onset neurodegeneration. The early pathology suggests lysosomal function must be essential for normal neuronal development. To study this, Richard’s group primarily use fruit flies as a simple model system to understand how and why the nervous system is sensitive to changes in lysosomal biology.
Scientific Inspiration
Professor Martin Raff. He was a senior member of the faculty where I did my PhD. He was a brilliant scientist who could see the key question that needed to be answered better than anyone I have met. He was also a brilliant communicator and was always available to discuss the PhD students projects.
Project Details
Dr Richard Tuxworth is supervising no projects this year.