Dr Celine Galvagnion

My main research interests focus on understanding the early onset and proliferation of Parkinson’s disease.

In fact, alpha synuclein (a-syn) is a small presynaptic protein involved in neuronal and synaptic vesicle plasticity but its aggregation to form amyloid fibrils is the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. My current research focuses on establishing the molecular mechanism by which the interaction between a-syn and vesicles trigger amyloid formation by the former. In addition, I am particularly interested in understanding how a change in bilayer properties would affect the behavior of the protein at the membrane interface. Such an understanding would allow us to shed light on the mechanism by which the balance between functional interactions of a-syn with lipid membranes and deleterious ones that can generate pathogenicity, can be affected in vivo.