Annabelle Neri

Research

During my studies, I always enjoyed utilizing my organic chemistry lab skills to study and discover the world of chemical biology.  As part of the FLOW consortium I will be working to unravel the mechanisms that comprise the quality control system that directs protein fate. More specifically, I will investigate the regulation pathway of α-synuclein (aSyn), a protein that is usually found in neurons. When aSyn is not regulated correctly, it aggregates into Lewy bodies, abnormal bundles of proteins associated with Parkinson disease (PD). In my PhD I will be researching how the ubiquitin proteasome system directs the fate of the protein α-synuclein, and prevents this aggregate formation. I will be using my chemistry expertise to prepare an ubiquitin-α-synuclein tool box to help elucidate this pathway and find possible targets for therapeutics.

Curriculum Vitae

I received my BSc in Chemistry at the University of Groningen in 2021, with the track specialization of “Sustainable Chemistry and Energy”. Here I did my BSc thesis in the Chemical Glycobiology group working on the synthesis of bacterial sugars. I continued my studies at the University of Groningen and in 2024 I finished my MSc in Chemistry with the specialization “Synthesis and Chemical Biology”. During my MSc thesis I worked in the Roelfes group, where I researched biocatalytic methods to catalyze the new-to-nature chemical reactions. In my MSc internship I joined the MetBioCat group, at the University of Santiago de Compostela, where I synthesized and studied tandem bio-orthogonal probes. In November 2024 I started my PhD in the Cell and Chemical Biology department under the supervision of Monique Mulder.