Why some neurons are more vulnerable to inflammation
Linking DNA damage and repair to the selective loss of cortical neurons.
Explore the finding
Balmus Laboratory
Studying genome instability in neurodegeneration and ageing
Our mission is to improve the lives of people affected by brain disease through discoveries that protect brain health.
UK Dementia Research Institute · University of CambridgeGrowth rings · conceptual artwork
Understanding how neurons maintain their genomes throughout life.
Research summary
We study genome instability in neurodegeneration and ageing, asking how neurons maintain their DNA and function throughout life. Alongside genetic screens and human cell and mouse models, our work on the naked mole-rat explores the biology of healthy brain ageing. Our aim is to understand what makes neurons vulnerable and what helps preserve brain health over time.
Introduction
The Balmus Laboratory studies the DNA damage response in mature neurons. These long-lived cells face a particular challenge: protecting their genetic material over a lifetime.
We explore how neurons respond to endogenous genotoxic stress, how these responses change in disease, and which repair pathways influence neuronal survival.
Our approach combines CRISPR–Cas9 screening, human stem-cell-derived neuronal models and mouse models. We study Huntington’s disease, ALS and frontotemporal dementia, ataxia telangiectasia, and Parkinson’s disease. We also work on the naked mole-rat to investigate brain ageing and the mechanisms that may support long-term neuronal resilience.
Our researchDiscoveries & impact
Explore the storiesResearch highlights
Slowing the expansion of a disease-causing DNA repeat
Reducing MSH3 stalled CAG repeat expansion in patient-derived neuronal models.
Explore the findingModelling early disease in human brain organoids
A human model reveals early cellular changes and enables tests of potential interventions.
Explore the findingResearch areas
Explore our research01
Huntington’s disease
DNA repair pathways and the control of CAG repeat expansion.
Find out more02ALS & frontotemporal dementia
Genome instability and DNA damage responses in vulnerable neurons.
Find out more03Ataxia telangiectasia
The role of ATM in neuronal genome stability and damage responses.
Find out more04Parkinson’s disease
Oxidative stress, mitochondrial integrity and neuronal survival.
Find out more05
Healthy brain ageing
What the naked mole-rat can teach us about genome stability, neuronal resilience and healthy brain ageing.
Explore our ageing researchGroup members
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Cătălin Coltău
Research Assistant and PhD student - in collaboration with Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience
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Diana Gold Diaz
Research Assistant
Ioana Ardelean
Scientific researcher - in collaboration with Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience
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Irina-Maria Ungureanu
PhD Student
James Woodward
PhD student
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Jingyi (Wendy) Wu
Research Assistant
José Vicente
Research Assistant and PhD student
Kangning He
Research Assistant
Selected publications
See all publicationsDecoding the naked mole-rat genome, telomere to telomere
Read preprintTargeting epigenetic regulators induces transcription-replication conflicts to overcome ATR inhibitor resistance
Read publicationNuclear PI3P produced by the Beclin-1/Vps34 complex regulates DNA mismatch repair
Read publicationDNA damage burden causes selective CUX2 neuron loss in neuroinflammation
Read publicationLatest news
See all news· Preprint
Decoding the naked mole-rat genome, telomere to telomere
Our collaborative bioRxiv preprint presents a telomere-to-telomere naked mole-rat genome assembly, annotated using data from 23 tissues. The resource enables studies of genome stability and the genetic basis of the species’ distinctive biology.
Read the bioRxiv preprint· Publication
Exploring ways to overcome ATR inhibitor resistance
A collaborative study with the Jackson Laboratory identifies epigenetic regulators that can restore sensitivity to ATR inhibition in experimental cancer models.
Read the paper· Research programme
Developing small-molecule approaches for Huntington’s disease
Gabriel Balmus and Sarah Tabrizi are advancing a project supported by stage II of the UK DRI Key Questions programme, aiming to identify compounds that selectively target DNA repair pathways involved in CAG repeat expansion.
Read the UK DRI announcement
