Pawlus, Matthew

•  Postdoctoral Research, University of Washington's Institute for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine 

• Ph.D., Molecular Biology, University of Colorado 

• B.S., Biology, Colorado Mesa University

The cyanobacterial biotoxin beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is found in freshwater and marine algal blooms and exposure has been associated with neurodegenerative disease in humans and other mammals. While the precise mechanism by which BMAA may cause disease is not understood, our previous work indicates that the toxin promotes activation of the Wnt signaling pathway in human cells. Due to the importance of Wnt signaling in human developmental processes, especially neurodevelopment, it is likely that BMAA alters neurodevelopment in ways that may that may predispose individuals to neurodegenerative disease. This project focuses on characterizing cellular and molecular development in processes perturbed by BMAA exposure during cell differentiation to neural lineages.