Autophagy in Health and Disease Potential Therapeutic Approaches

The chapters cover autophagy and its potential applications on diseases ranging from obesity, osteoarthritis, pulmonary fibrosis, and inflammation, through ALS, Parkinson's, retinal degeneration, breast cancer, alcoholic liver disease and more. The final chapters round out the book with a discussion of autophagy in drug discovery and 'bench to bedside'. Chapters are contributed by leading authorities and describe the general concepts of autophagy in health and disease, marrying cell biology and pharmacology and covering: studies derived from preclinical experiments, manufacturing considerations,and regulatory requirements pertaining to drug discovery and manufacturing and production. This volume will be useful for basic scientists as well as already practicing cliniciansand advanced graduate students.

Kursad Turksen received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada in the area of osteoprogenitor biology and cell selection methodologies. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois, studying epidermal biology through use of genetically-altered mouse models. He joined the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in Ottawa, Canada [previously known as the Loeb Research Institute] where he rose to the position of Senior Scientist in the Division of Regenerative Medicine. His research interests focus on stem cell biology, with a particular interest in the Claudin family of tight junction proteins and their role in epidermal lineage commitment and progression during development in health and disease. Dr. Turksen was, until recently, Editor in Chief of the Springer journal Stem Cell Reviews and Reports and currently serves as Series Editor for the Springer series Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.