Bloom, George S.
Primary Appointment
Professor, Biology
Education
- BA, Biology, History, University of Pennsylvania
- PhD, Biology, University of Pennsylvania
- Postdoc, Cell Biology, University of North Carolina
- Postdoc, Cell Biology, Worcester Foundation for Exp. Biol
Contact Information
Department of Biology
PO Box 400328
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4328
Telephone: 434-243-3543
Email: gsb4g@virginia.edu
Website: https://uva.theopenscholar.com/bloom-lab
Research Disciplines
Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Experimental Pathology, Neuroimmunology, Neuroscience
Research Interests
Pathogenic mechanisms in Alzheimer's Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
Research Description
Research in our laboratory is now focused primarily on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of a group of neurodegenerative disorders known collectively as tauopathies. The histopathological hallmark of AD is the presence in brain of extracellular plaques of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide fibrils, and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles, which are filaments composed of the protein, tau, and are found in all tauopathies. Despite the conspicuous appearance of plaques and tangles, a growing body of evidence points to their building blocks, Aβ and tau oligomers, as being the toxic molecular species that cause AD. For example, we have found that tau expression is required for several adverse effects of Aβ oligomers on neurons, including microtubules loss, ectopic re-rentry into the cell cycle, cytotoxicity and impaired mitochondrial activity. The goals of our work are to decipher the metabolic links that connect Aβ and tau to damage neurons, to define the structures and pathological properties of various types of Aβ and tau oligomers, and to leverage our basic science findings to develop more effective therapeutic and diagnostic tools for AD.