Parkinson’s Disease (PD) affects 1% of the global population over 60, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. PD is characterized by a progressive decline in motor function caused by a loss of dopaminergic neurons. Currently, there is no cure for PD. Perutz group leader Erinc Hallacli explains that, if one had a magical wand and could zoom into the brains of patients with PD, one would see a protein called alpha-synuclein slowly accumulating and aggregating in cells. “In our lab, we are trying to understand how this protein functions and how its dysfunction causes neuronal cell death”, Erinc says.
Alpha-synuclein oscillates between the membrane and RNA processing bodies. The Hallacli lab focuses on characterizing the dual life of alpha-synuclein by developing technologies to study transient membrane protein interactions alongside high-throughput screens and ORFeome tagging techniques. Using iPSC-derived neurons as a model, the researchers aim to shed light on the mechanisms by which alpha-synuclein dysregulation is manifested in PD. “If we can contribute, however small, to the understanding of PD, we would have achieved something”, Erinc reflects.
In another universe, Erinc's dream job would be as a librarian. His love for books is profound, and being surrounded by them fascinates him. His journey into science was, in fact, sparked by a specific book: "I was about twelve when we had the Encyclopædia Britannica at home, and I decided to read about this molecule called DNA. I was hooked – I couldn’t let it go," he recalls. For Erinc, the magic of science isn’t just in expanding human knowledge, but in fueling our imagination. “I like to think that humans evolved to be storytellers. We like stories and we have a rich inner imagination, and science can fuel these stories almost infinitely.”