Bedri Ranxhi
Office Address
Scott Hall 3108
Office Phone
313-577-2522
Biography
I am currently a member of Dr. Wei-Ling Tsou’s Lab
Education
I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology coupled with a minor in Biology at Wayne State University.
Areas of Research
Throughout my tenure in the research field my primary focus has been dedicated to neurodegenerative diseases like Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 and 7. A core aspect of my work has revolved around understanding the importance of upholding protein quality control mechanisms.
As a member of The Tsou lab I continue my research endeavors in the realm of neurodegenerative diseases, specifically centering on the intricate landscape of Parkinson’s Disease. The central emphasis of the Tsou lab involves utilizing biomarker discoveries from Dr. Peter LeWitt to unveil the complex mechanisms linking polyamine metabolism with Parkinson's Disease.
Our research predominantly use Drosophila Melanogaster as an animal model to investiagte the impact of diverse polyamine enzyme-encoding genes on Parkinson Disease pathology. Additionally, The Tsou lab incorporates an array of techniques including cell culture assays, immunofluorescence staining, histochemistry, QPCR, western blotting and native PAGE, as well various behavioral assays.
Links of Interest
Publications
Pluciennik A, Liu Y, Molotsky E, Marsh GB, Ranxhi B, Arnold FJ, St-Cyr S, Davidson BL, Pourshafie N, Lieberman AP, Gu W, Todi SV, Merry DE (2021). Deubiquitinase USP7 contributes to the pathogenicity of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy. Journal of Clinical Investigation. Jan 4;134565. doi: 10.1172/JCI134565
Johnson SL, Ranxhi B, Libohova K, Tsou W-L, Todi SV (2020). Ubiquitin-interacting motifs of ataxin-3 regulate its polyglutamine toxicity through Hsc70-4-dependent aggregation. eLife 2020 Sep 21;9:e60742. doi: doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60742.
Ashraf NS, Sutton JR, Yang Y, Ranxhi B, Libohova K, Shaw E, Todi SV, Paulson HL, Costa Mdo (2020). Drug- gable genome screen identifies new regulators of the abundance and toxicity of ATXN3, the Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 disease protein. Neurobiology of Disease 2020 Apr;137:104697. doi: doi.org/10.1101/690818.
Johnson SL, Blount JR, Ranxhi B, Libohova K, Paulson HL, Tsou W-L, Todi SV (2019). Differential toxicity of ataxin-3 isoforms in Drosophila models of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3. Neurobiology of Disease 2019 Dec;132:104535. doi: 10.1016/ j.nbd.2019.104535.