Recipients
Michael Pushie
Supervisor(s):
Graham George
Diseases such as Mad Cow, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Wilson’s and hemochromatosis (iron overload) are the targets of Dr. Jake Pushie’s research. He has found, in healthy individuals, that a certain protein, called the prion protein, exists in abundance in the central nervous system. Dr. Pushie believes that when changes are made to the amount of this protein, there is an associated disruption of the levels of naturally occurring metals – copper, iron and zinc – in the brain.
Dr. Pushie and the Environmental Science Research Group are employing a combination of synchrotron-based X-ray techniques to map the metals in the brain. Those techniques are made possible by the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, located on the University of Saskatchewan campus. Using computational chemistry and positron emission tomography (PET), the group is developing detailed pictures to show how altered trace metal levels in the brain are common to neurodegenerative diseases.
Diseases such as Mad Cow, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Wilson’s and hemochromatosis (iron overload) are the targets of Dr. Jake Pushie’s research. He has found, in healthy individuals, that a certain protein, called the prion protein, exists in abundance in the central nervous system. Dr. Pushie believes that when changes are made to the amount of this protein, there is an associated disruption of the levels of naturally occurring metals – copper, iron and zinc – in the brain.
Dr. Pushie and the Environmental Science Research Group are employing a combination of synchrotron-based X-ray techniques to map the metals in the brain. Those techniques are made possible by the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, located on the University of Saskatchewan campus. Using computational chemistry and positron emission tomography (PET), the group is developing detailed pictures to show how altered trace metal levels in the brain are common to neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Pushie’s research will provide the evidence to confirm the prion protein’s role in the integral cellular machinery for regulating trace metals in the brain and nervous system. The findings will be an important contribution to the detailed molecular and anatomic knowledge of which metals and regions of the brain are preferentially affected in individuals with neurodegenerative disease. Such knowledge will encourage further study into the potential for altering the prion protein as a customized therapy for the treatment of individuals with neurodegenerative diseases.
