Insights into Human Neurodegeneration: Lessons Learnt from Drosophila

This book is aimed at generating an updated reservoir of scientific endeavors undertaken to unravel the complicated yet intriguing topic of neurodegeneration. Scientists from Europe, USA and India who are experts in the field of neurodegenerative diseases have contributed to this book. This book will help readers gain insight into the recent knowledge obtained from Drosophila model, in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders and also unravel novel scopes for therapeutic interventions. Different methodologies available to create humanized fly models that faithfully reflects the pathogenicities associated with particular disorders have been described here. It also includes information on the exciting area of neural stem cells. A brief discussion on neurofibrillary tangles, precedes the elaborate description of lessons learnt from Drosophila about Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s, Spinomuscular Atrophy, Huntington’s diseases, RNA expansion disorders and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. We have concluded the book with the use of Drosophila for identifying pharmacological therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. The wide range of topics covered here will not only be relevant for beginners who are new to the concept of the extensive utility of Drosophila as a model to study human disorders; but will also be an important contribution to the scientific community, with an insight into the paradigm shift in our understanding of neurodegenerative disorders. Completed with informative tables and communicative illustrations this book will keep the readers glued and intrigued. We have comprehensively anthologized the lessons learnt on neurodegeneration from Drosophila and have thus provided an insight into the multidimensional aspects of pathogenicities of majority of the neurodegenerative disorders. 

Dr. Mousumi Mutsuddi is a faculty in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Banaras Hindu University. She was earlier a scientist at Broad Institute, MIT. She has been visiting scientist at NIH, Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, MIT, and University of Valencia etc. She has close to three decades of research experience and has contributed immensely to the understanding of molecular basis of neurodegenerative disease, congenital ocular disorders and apoptosis. Her research group has identified novel RNA binding proteins that depletes pathogenic non-coding SCA8 transcripts as well as identified a novel RNA helicase, Maheshvara whose human orthologue is vital for CNS development. Her research findings have been published in reputed journals like Current Biology, American Journal of Human Genetics, and Human Mutation etc. She has delivered invited lectures in several international meetings and her research contributions have won her recognitions and awards from apical organizations of India like Department of Biotechnology and Indian National Science Academy. 

Dr. Ashim Mukherjee is a Professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Banaras Hindu University, India. He has almost thirty years of research experience in the field of Drosophila Genetics and Molecular Biology. He has worked at premier research institutes like Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. He has identified several novel interacting partners involved in different aspects of Notch signaling. His research findings have been published in renowned journals like Nature Cell Biology, Genome Research, Current Biology, Genetics, and Development etc. Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India has funded research work in his laboratory. Dr. Mukherjee is member of the Drosophila Board of India, life member of Indian Society of Cell Biology and the Indian Society of Developmental Biology. He is also member in the editorial board of several journals.