Joy Zhao
Researcher in Sean Cregan's lab studying how chronic cell-stress signalling through ATF4 suppresses mTOR and kills dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease models
Research staff/trainee, Cregan lab · Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Canada
Working in Parkinson's disease models, the Cregan lab found that sustained activity of the stress-response transcription factor ATF4 turns on a set of genes whose combined effect is to chronically suppress both mTORC1 and mTORC2. That suppression helps activate a pro-death protein, pushing dopamine-producing neurons toward death — identifying a maladaptive 'ATF4-mTOR' axis as a potential new drug target for slowing neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease.
Milestones in the Atlas
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | M | ATF4 activates a transcriptional program that chronically suppresses mTOR activity and promotes neurodegeneration in Parkinson disease models DEMMINGS2026 Co-author on a mechanistic study identifying a maladaptive ATF4-mTOR signaling axis — chronic integrated-stress-response activation suppresses both mTORC1 and mTORC2, triggering dopaminergic neuron death in Parkinson's disease models. |