Gabriel Balmus

Prof Gabriel Balmus

Group Leader

Identifying genetic and environmental factors involved in DNA damage, neurodegeneration and ageing in neurons

Condition

Huntington's disease, Motor neuron disease/ALS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease

Biography

Interested in the mechanisms controlling the maintenance of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes in mature neurons, Prof Gabriel Balmus joined the UK DRI at Cambridge in 2018. Obtaining his PhD in Molecular and Integrative Physiology in 2013 at Cornell University, USA, he went on to complete postdoctoral training at the Gurdon Institute at University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. As Group Leader, Gabriel brings his wealth of expertise to research genomic instability in neurodegenerative diseases.

News

Key publications

Nat Commun
Published
Knockout or inhibition of USP30 protects dopaminergic neurons in a Parkinson's disease mouse model.
Authors
Tracy-Shi Zhang Fang, Yu Sun, Andrew C Pearce, Simona Eleuteri, Mark Kemp, Christopher A Luckhurst, Rachel Williams, Ross Mills, Sarah Almond, Laura Burzynski, Nóra M Márkus, Christopher J Lelliott, Natasha A Karp, David J Adams, Stephen P Jackson, Jin-Feng Zhao, Ian G Ganley, Paul W Thompson, Gabriel Balmus, David K Simon
Knockout or inhibition of USP30 protects dopaminergic neurons in a Parkinson's disease mouse model.
Cell Rep
Published
FAN1 controls mismatch repair complex assembly via MLH1 retention to stabilize CAG repeat expansion in Huntington's disease.
Authors
Robert Goold, Joseph Hamilton, Thomas Menneteau, Michael Flower, Emma L Bunting, Sarah G Aldous, Antonio Porro, José R Vicente, Nicholas D Allen, Hilary Wilkinson, Gillian P Bates, Alessandro A Sartori, Konstantinos Thalassinos, Gabriel Balmus, Sarah J Tabrizi
FAN1 controls mismatch repair complex assembly via MLH1 retention to stabilize CAG repeat expansion in Huntington's disease.

Balmus Lab

Explore the work of the Balmus lab, aiming to identify neuroprotective mechanisms against genomic instability accrual in ageing and neurodegeneration. 

Balmus lab
Image of a brain organoid