Tara L. Spires-Jones, DPhil
- Lab Phone: 617-726-1263
Research Investigator Profile
Tara L. Spires-Jones, DPhil
- Assistant Professor of Neurology,
Harvard Medical School - Assistant in Neuroscience
Massachusetts General Hospital
Research Description
My research focuses on questions of mechanisms and reversibility of neuronal degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. During the course of Alzheimer’s disease, neurons lose synapses and specifically dendritic spines, the postsynaptic element of most excitatory synapses in the brain. Neurons also suffer changes in neurite architecture such as curvature caused by senile plaques and axonal and dendritic swellings associated with plaque and tangle pathology. Using advanced imaging techniques, mouse models, and human tissue, we study the effects of accumulation of amyloid beta into senile plaques and phosphorylated tau into neurofibrillary tangles on dendritic spines, neurite morphology, and neuronal death. We are investigating mechanisms underlying these changes and whether treatments such as immunotherapy can reverse some of the damage. Since synapses and neurites are very plastic structures, they have the potential to recover after treatments, giving hope for some functional recovery in patients if we can halt neurodegenerative processes in the future.
| Research interests | Neurodegeneration and plasticity in disease and aging |
| Research techniques | Multiphoton imaging, array tomography, viral-mediated gene transfer |
| Diseases studied | Alzheimer’s disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Aging |
| Selected publications |
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| NCBI PubMed link |
NCBI PubMed Publications, Spires, TL |
| E-mail address | tspires@partners.org |
| Lab mailing address | MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease Building 114, Room 114 16th Street Charlestown, MA 02129 |
10/19/2012
