Yoon Lee

Program: Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology

Current advisor: Andrew Yoo, PhD

Undergraduate university: Brandeis University, 2019

Enrollment year: 2022

Research summary
Investigating the role of RCAN1 in aging and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Aging is the primary risk factor for sporadic late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). However, while aging is universal, not everyone develops AD, suggesting that chronological age alone does not determine disease onset. This raises the question of why some individuals are more susceptible to age-associated changes than others. RCAN1 expression increases with aging, and previous studies have reported that individuals with LOAD exhibit even higher levels of RCAN1. Notably, reducing RCAN1 expression using shRNA has shown neuroprotective effects, and I aim to investigate the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.

Graduate publications
Lin JB, Santeford A, Colasanti JJ, Lee Y, Shah AV, Wang TJ, Ruzycki PA, Apte RS. 2024 Targeting cell-type-specific, choroid-peripheral immune signaling to treat age-related macular degeneration. Cell Rep Med, 5(1):101353. PMCID: PMC10829736