Claudia Fallini Lab

Dr. Claudia Fallini

Dr. Fallini is an assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island. Her lab focuses on neuroscience and neuronal functions in neurodegenerative diseases, and trying to understand what leads neurons to die in these diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a type of disease in which cells (neurons) of the central nervous system stop working or die. These diseases typically worsen over a period of time, and unfortunately have no cure. The death of neurons eventually lead to loss of motor skills, paralysis, memory loss, etc.

Her lab focuses on two onset neuro diseases that lead patients to become paralyzed over time, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD). To study this, Dr. Fallini's lab uses immortal cell lines (which are translated to Induced pluripotent stem cell {IPSCs}) and focuses mostly on the cytoskeleton of the cell.

There are many skills and equipment utilized in Dr. Fallini's lab, including

• Tissue/ cell culture

  • growing tissues in an artificial growth medium to analyze

• Cell staining

• Immunofluorescence

  • used for light microscopy

• Image analysis

Although previous lab experience isn't required, it is preferred.

Students interested in Dr. Fallini's lab are encouraged to contact her at cfallini@uri.edu