Jeehye Park
PhD
Jeehye Park is a Senior Scientist in the Genetics and Genome Biology Program, the Hospital for Sick Children, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto. Park lab currently focuses on studying the molecular mechanism of a neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach including biochemistry, molecular cell biology and fly and mouse genetics to ultimately improve understanding of the disease and develop therapeutic strategies. Park's lab is also interested in understanding the molecular mechanism of neuronal development, maintenance and aging.
Dr. Park received PhD from Jongkyeong Chung lab at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Daejeon, South Korea), where she studied the molecular mechanism of Parkinson’s disease. She completed postdoctoral training in Huda Zoghbi lab at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, USA) and studied spinocerebellar ataxia type 1.Neurodegenerative diseases are increasingly recognized as one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide; however, no cure is available for these diseases. Insufficient understanding of the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases hinders the development of effective treatment strategies. The key questions that remain enigmatic in the neurodegenerative research field are (1) how do neurons die? (2) why certain neurons are selectively affected? and (3) does inflammatory response protect neurons from dying or accelerate the dying process? Elucidation of the neurodegenerative process, the discovery of the vulnerable neuronal cell types and identification of the role of inflammation in the nervous system would facilitate the development of powerful and effective strategies for therapeutic intervention.
Courses taught
- MMG3006Y Future Directions in Medical Genomics
Cross-affiliations
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, SickKids Research Institute