Katherine Southam, PhD

JAD profile

Affiliation(s): 

Menzies Institute for Medical Research; University of Tasmania

Areas of Interest: 

Alzheimer's disease, microglia, synapse function and degeneration, axon degeneration, excitotoxicity

Biography & Research: 

My primary area of research is into the links between immune dysfunction and early Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Recent findings suggest that immune dysfunction may be an early contributing factor in AD, and genetic studies suggest that abnormal functioning of the immune system could underlie the disease. Our research primarily uses cultured neurons (hippocampal) and enriched primary microglial cells to study how microglial dysfunction is linked to synapse pathology and neuronal damage.