Sarah N. Fontaine, Ph.D.

I am a cellular and molecular neuroscientist focused on understanding the role of proteostasis, or regulation of protein homeostasis, in brain health. Proteostasis is an essential process required to maintain proper function of all cells in the brain. Faulty proteostasis is implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease). My research studies how proteostasis mechanisms in brain cells contribute to the development and progression of these incurable neurodegenerative diseases.