Dr Ryan West
School of Medicine and Population Health
Senior Fellow and Dementia Research Leader Fellow
+44 114 222 2239
Full contact details
School of Medicine and Population Health
Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN)
385a Glossop Road
Sheffield
S10 2HQ
- Profile
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2025 – Present: Senior Fellow, Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow (SITraN, University of Sheffield)
2023 – 2025: Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow (SITraN, University of Sheffield)
2019 – 2023: SITraN Fellow and Alzheimer’s Society Fellow (SITraN, University of Sheffield)
2018 – 2019: Alzheimer’s Society Junior Fellow (University of Manchester)
2015 – 2018: Postdoctoral Research Associate (University of York)
2013-2015: Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders Wellcome Trust funded “Discipline hopping” Fellow (University of York)
2010 - 2013: PhD, The University of York
- Research interests
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Our research looks to use Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) as a powerful genetic model organism to dissect the molecular mechanisms contributing to neurodegenerative diseases including dementia, motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s disease. Our primary research focuses on two overlapping neurodegenerative disorders, Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and Motor Neurone Disease (MND). We are particularly interested in how dipeptide-repeats associated with the disease causing hexanucleotide expansion within the C9orf72 gene contribute towards neurodegeneration and the role of gene-environment interactions in disease. In the lab we have a number of Drosophila models of both FTD and MND including C9orf72 related DPRs, C9orf72 pure repeat models and models of CHMP2B, VCP and TDP-43 related disease. We are interested in how we can use Drosophila as part of a translational pipeline both to understand the molecular mechanisms of disease and as part of a drug-screening strategy.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- RuvBL1/2 reduce toxic dipeptide repeat protein burden in multiple models of C9orf72-ALS/FTD. Life Science Alliance, 8(2), e202402757-e202402757.
- Senataxin helicase, the causal gene defect in ALS4, is a significant modifier of C9orf72 ALS G4C2 and arginine-containing dipeptide repeat toxicity. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 11(1). View this article in WRRO
- Identification and Monitoring of Nucleotide Repeat Expansions Using Southern Blotting in Drosophila Models of C9orf72 Motor Neuron Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia. Bio-protocol, 12(10).
- Lessons learned from CHMP2B, implications for frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurobiology of Disease, 147. View this article in WRRO
- Co-expression of C9orf72 related dipeptide-repeats over 1000 repeat units reveals age- and combination-specific phenotypic profiles in Drosophila. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 8.
- Neuroprotective activity of ursodeoxycholic acid in CHMP2B Intron5 models of frontotemporal dementia. Neurobiology of Disease, 144.
- Ik2/TBK1 and Hook/Dynein, an adaptor complex for early endosome transport, are genetic modifiers of FTD-associated mutant CHMP2B toxicity in Drosophila. Scientific Reports, 10(1).
- Autism sensory dysfunction in an evolutionarily conserved system. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1893). View this article in WRRO
- Sphingolipids regulate neuromuscular synapse structure and function in Drosophila. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 526(13), 1995-2009. View this article in WRRO
- Abnormal visual gain control and excitotoxicity in early-onset Parkinson’s disease Drosophila models. Journal of Neurophysiology, 119(3), 957-970.
- The pro-apoptotic JNK scaffold POSH/SH3RF1 mediates CHMP2BIntron5-associated toxicity in animal models of frontotemporal dementia. Human Molecular Genetics, 27(8), 1382-1395. View this article in WRRO
- A perceptive plus in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders, 33(2), 248-248. View this article in WRRO
- Identification of dietary alanine toxicity and trafficking dysfunction in a Drosophilamodel of hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type 1. Human Molecular Genetics, 24(24), 6899-6909.
- Classification of Parkinson’s Disease Genotypes in Drosophila Using Spatiotemporal Profiling of Vision. Scientific Reports, 5(1).
- Eyeing up Drosophila models of frontotemporal dementia: identifying conserved mechanisms in disease pathology. Future Neurology, 10(6), 507-510.
- Binding partners of the kinase domains in Drosophila obscurin and their effect on the structure of the flight muscle. Journal of Cell Science, 128(18), 3386-3397.
- Rab8, POSH, and TAK1 regulate synaptic growth in a Drosophila model of frontotemporal dementia. Journal of Cell Biology, 208(7), 931-947.
- Neurophysiology ofDrosophilaModels of Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson's Disease, 2015, 1-11.
- Oxidative stress and autophagy. Autophagy, 8(2), 284-285.
- Modeling C9orf72-Related Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Drosophila. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 15.
- Reactive oxygen species regulate activity-dependent neuronal plasticity in Drosophila. eLife, 7.
Preprints
- Autism sensory dysfunction in an evolutionarily conserved system, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- RuvBL1/2 reduce toxic dipeptide repeat protein burden in multiple models of C9orf72-ALS/FTD. Life Science Alliance, 8(2), e202402757-e202402757.
- Research group
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Joanne Sharpe (PDRA)
Ruth Thomas (PDRA)
Sam Bonsall (PDRA)
Debarati Bhattacharya (PDRA)
Jasmine Speranza (PDRA)
Charlotte Gale (PhD Student)
Ergita Balli (PhD Student)
Abbie Stretch (PhD Student)
David Rhodes (PhD Student, Secondary Supervisor)
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Member of NC3Rs Partnerships and impact Panel, 2024 - present
- Member of NC3Rs Studentship Grant Panel, January 2023 - 2024
- Current Funding Sources
- Alzheimer’s Society
- ARUK
- Motor Neurone Disease Association
- My Name’5 Doddie Foundation
- Tambourine’s ALS Breakthrough Research Fund, in Partnership with the Milken Institute
- MRC
- MRC DiMeN