Alexander Conicella is a PhD candidate in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry Graduate Program. He completed a Bachelors of Arts in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Rutgers University in 2012. His graduate studies in the laboratory of Dr. Nicolas Fawzi aim to study and characterize the protein TDP-43 and its role in neurodegenerative disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzeimer’s disease (AD). Mr. Conicella has already published a peer-reviewed report identifying the functional role and structural changes in an aberrant form of TDP-43 seen in ALS. He has also presented his research at multiple national scientific meetings. His current and future work will further describe the structure and function of native TDP-43 and, in collaboration with researchers at University College London, expand this work to include in vivo functional studies using mouse models with disease variants of TDP-43. Following the completion of his graduate studies, Mr. Conicella plans to pursue a postdoctoral position that will allow him to expand his structural and biochemical techniques to in vivo approaches. Ultimately, Mr. Conicella intends to become a faculty member at a University combining academic teaching and his own independent research laboratory.
Graduate Student