Rate My Professor Yuanyuan Deng

Dr. Yuanyuan Deng is a Research Fellow and Professional Casual in Macquarie Medical School at Macquarie University, primarily affiliated with the Dementia Research Centre. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Science at Macquarie University in 2022. Her employment history includes positions at Macquarie University in Sydney and North Ryde, as well as Zunyi Medical University in China. Deng's research specializes in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and related gene-target therapies, contributing to advancements in neurodegeneration.

As Chief Investigator, she leads the project 'Inhibition failure in Alzheimer's disease' alongside Shelley Forrest, Yazi Ke, and Gabor Kovacs. She serves as Associate Investigator on 'Targeting tau for the treatment of SYNGAP-1 Encephalopathy.' Her prolific publication record includes 'Loss of LAMP5 interneurons drives neuronal network dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease' (2022), 'Syntaxins 6 and 8 facilitate tau into secretory pathways' (2021), 'Targeting 14-3-3θ-mediated TDP-43 pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis' (2024), 'Septin6 as a new approach for AD treatment' (2024), 'PLP1-targeting antisense oligonucleotides improve FOXG1 syndrome mice' (2024), and 'Engineered cyclotide blocks neuronal excitotoxicity' (2024). These works address interneuron dysfunction, tau pathology, TDP-43 mechanisms, septin proteins in AD, genetic therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders, and neuroprotective strategies. Deng's research has garnered over 1,100 citations on Google Scholar with an h-index of 10. She received the Macquarie University Research Fellowship in 2024 for 'Targeting the synaptic GTPase-activating protein 1 for Alzheimer's disease' and the Early-career Enhancement Scheme micro-funding grant in 2023. Additionally, she contributes to a team awarded NHMRC Ideas Grants exceeding $6.7 million in 2022 under Professor Lars Ittner.