The main focus of his research program is the physiological function of the prion protein in mammals and the mechanisms of prion replication as well as the structural characterization of molecular determinants for prion infectivity.
Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are a group of rare, incurable neurodegenerative disorders leading to motor and cognitive impairments, extensive brain damage and neuronal degeneration.
The focus of the Laboratory of Prion Biology is studying prion diseases, rare and fatal neurodegenerative maladies that affect humans and animals for which there currently is no diagnostic tool, nor cure.
