Project Title: Characterisation of glial and neuronal pathology associated with amyloid-β oligomers in Alzheimer’s Disease models
Supervisors: Professor Paul Matthews, Professor Steve Gentleman
Location: Level 4, Burlington Danes Building, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, W12 0NN
LOOKING FOR POSTDOC POSITION
About Me
Having graduated with double BSc degrees in Biomedical Sciences from Queen Mary University of London (UK) and Clinical Medicine from Nanchang University (China), I was admitted by the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London to join Prof. Paul Matthews’ laboratory. Prof. Steve Gentleman is my secondary supervisor.
I have been a student representative in Department of Brain Sciences in my Years 2 and 3, contributing to the organisation of social events within the department, as well as reporting on common problems for students. I've really enjoyed the feeling of becoming an early-stage scientist, carrying out some interesting wet lab experiments that are hopefully milestones of dementia research. I am currently writing thesis and looking for postdoc positions in the field of brain sciences.
Qualifications
- BSc in Biomedical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, UK
- BSc in Clinical Medicine, Nachang University, China
Research Interests
Characterisation of the cellular phenotypes, functions and interactions in the brain is key to our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common type of late-life dementia. Amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, tau pathology, glial activation and neurodegeneration are four hallmarks of AD. Cellular homeostasis in the CNS is regulated and maintained in part by microglia and astrocytes. However, although Aβ deposits are surrounded by activated microglia and astrocytes in AD, it remains uncertain whether this is a consequence of the Aβ plaques or whether they contribute to their genesis. The relation of these two pathological elements to neurodegeneration also remains surprisingly unclear. My research interest is focused on early stage AD, and my project is based on the AppNL-G-Fmouse, a triple knock-in mouse model which avoids the artefact caused by transfecting too many APP gene copies. Apphu mouse has been used as a novel control with humanized APP genes, which is compared with wildtype mouse.
Selected publications
Tang J, Patel S, Gentleman S, et al. Neurological Consequences of COVID-19 Infection [Online]. arXiv, 2021. https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.05388
Patel S and Tang J. COVID-19: The Challenges for People living with Dementia [Online]. The Lewy Body Society, 2020. https://www.lewybody.org/covid-19-the-challenges-for-people-living-with-dementia/
Huang D, Wang Y, Tang J, et al. Molecular mechanisms of suppressor of fused in regulating the hedgehog signalling pathway. Oncology letters, 2018. 15(5): p. 6077-6086.
Presentations and Conferences
- 2021 Poster Presentation in European Neuroscience Conference
- 2021 Poster Presentation in British Neuroscience Association 2021 Festival
- 2020 Presentation in Dementia Christmas Symposium
- 2019 Invited Talk in School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London
- 2018-2020 UK Dementia Research Institute Connectome
- 2019 - 2020 Meeting of British Neuropathological Society
Contact Details
Email: j.tang18@imperial.ac.uk
How temperature and circadian rhythms intersect to regulate a protein shown to protect against neurodegeneration
A new study led by Dr Marco Brancaccio (UK DRI at Imperial) and Dr Marieke Hoekstra (former UK DRI at Imperial, now VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) offers a deeper insight into how a neuroprotective pathway is regulated both by temperature and the body clock. This research, published in the journal PNAS, could open up new therapeutic avenues for neurodegenerative disease. Read more on the UK DRI website
Introducing Cynthia Sandor: Pioneering earlier detection of Parkinson’s
Dr Cynthia Sandor, former Emerging Leader at the UK DRI at Cardiff, joins the UK DRI at Imperial as a Group Leader, where she will be tackling early diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
With a background in genetics, Dr Sandor uses computational methods to bring greater understanding to the underlying molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s. Read more about Cynthia's work on the UK DRI website.
