Leah Beauchamp

Alzheimer’s disease currently has no cure and we are in desperate need of drugs that are safer and more effective. In Alzheimer’s disease, there are failures in various biochemical processes and as the disease progresses there is an accumulation of a protein called tau that becomes toxic. 

Dr Leah Beauchamp’s project has focused on developing strategies that correct this biochemical failure that leads to toxic tau accumulation. In a healthy brain, there is a balance between functional and dysfunctional forms of tau that is kept in check by specific regulators, such as the enzyme PP2A. In Alzheimer’s disease, PP2A is less active and unable to maintain a healthy balance of dysfunctional tau. Tau is typically a crucial protein involved in maintaining the stability of brain cells. However, in Alzheimer’s disease it changes and becomes ‘sticky’ and clumps together. Over time it accumulates and gives way to a range of toxic pathways that build up over time, resulting in dementia. 

Dr Beauchamp has designed a compound that can reduce the dynamic process that turns “good tau” into “bad tau”. Using genetic techniques in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, Dr Beauchamp has successfully reduced PME1 (a protein responsible for deactivating PP2A) and increased PP2A activity back to a healthy level. By specifically targeting tau and helping to reduce the burden of protein accumulation in the brain, brain health can be improved and potential new therapies can be developed.

Read more about this exciting project

At the time of this award, Dr Leah Beauchamp was a postdoctoral researcher in the Neurotherapeutics Laboratory at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.