As an investigator at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Dr. Kraemer’s research explores how protein aggregation contributes to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Dr. Kraemer has developed animal models of the tau pathology seen in Alzheimer’s disease using both transgenic mice and transgenic C. elegans. Dr. Kraemer’s current work focuses on dissecting the genetic requirements for tau mediated neurodegeneration in these models. The approach taken is to use the experimental advantages of C. elegans to identify genes involved tauopathy and TDP-43 proteinopathy. The role of these newly identified genes will be explored using transgenic mouse models. As new genes are identified that participate in tau and TDP-43 neurotoxicity, potential strategies for preventing neurodegeneration can be tested with the ultimate goal of developing effective therapies for neurodegenerative disease
