Biology Department
Quynh Chu-LaGraff
Job Title
Professor of Biological Sciences
Co-Director of Neuroscience
Research interests
My research focuses on using Drosophila as a model to understand the biological significance of Palmitoyl Protein Thioesterase 1 and 2 (Ppt1 and Ppt2) during neural development. The research has biomedical significance since defective human PPT1 leads to a fatal pediatric disorder called infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL). The disease is characterized by progressive deterioration of the visual and central nervous system, and the accumulation of unwanted autofluorescent storage materials in the brain.
Teaching interests
Courses: Topics in Molecular Biology (BIO 205), Neurobiology BIO 242), Epigenetics, Cellular Neurosciences (BIO 363), Development, & Disease (BIO 364)
Publications
Student authors italicized
- Balouch, B., Nagorsky H., Pham T., Thai LaGraff, J. and Chu-LaGraff, Q.(2021) Human INCL fibroblasts display abnormal mitochondrial and lysosomal networks and heightened susceptibility to ROS-induced cell death. PLOS ONE, February 9, 2021.
- Glaser, R., Hickey, A., Chotkowski, and Chu-LaGraff, Q. (2003). Characterization of Drosophila palmitoyl protein thioesterase 1. Gene 312:271-9.
- Chu-LaGraff, Q., Kang, X.W., Messer, A. (2001). Expression of the Huntington’s Disease transgene in neural stem cell cultures from R6/2 transgenic mice. Brain Research Bulletin 56(3-4):307-12.
Additional media
Academic credentials
A.B., Cornell University; Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Integrated Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) 319
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