.jpg "Gunnar Hargus, MD, PhD photo")
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology
Columbia University
Dr. Hargus' research focuses on pluripotent stem cells and their application in developmental biology and disease modeling with a special focus on frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Dr. Hargus and colleagues have derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from patients with FTD carrying mutations in the gene encoding the microtubule-associated protein tau as an in vitro model for FTD. These mutations lead to abundant deposition of hyperphosphorylated tau protein within neurons and glial cells in various brain regions including the frontotemporal lobes and the brain stem. Dr. Hargus' aim is to identify mechanisms that lead to neural degeneration in FTD.