My research interests focus on understanding how proteins and organelles interact at the subcellular level in neurons and how they become altered in neurodegenerative diseases. To address this, I integrate approaches from spatial proteomics, machine learning, super-resolution and ultrastructural imaging with patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) neurons. My overarching goal is to identify and validate new therapeutic targets for dementia and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
My main areas of interest are:
Understanding how mitochondrial dysfunction leads to synaptic failure in ALS and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Presynaptic mitochondria are involved in many cellular processes that are relevant for neuronal function and support synaptic transmission, which breaks down in ALS. Our group is investigating mechanistic links between mitochondrial activity and synaptic transmission. This work is funded by the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Identifying local presynaptic molecular dysfunction in ALS iPS-derived neurons. In work funded by My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, we are integrating multi-omics with imaging to explore early presynaptic changes in ALS-derived motor neurons.
Mapping intracellular crosstalk in FTD. We use cortical neurons differentiated from patients with genetic forms of Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) to define how protein aggregation rewires the proteome and leads to functional deficits.
Ruxandra’s academic training began with a BSc in Biochemistry and Cell Biology in Germany, followed by an MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, where she developed a strong interest in brain disorders. Ruxandra subsequently undertook a DPhil (PhD) in Molecular Neurodegeneration under the supervision of Professor Richard Wade-Martins in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics. During her doctoral work, she developed novel genomic models of TDP-43 for Motor Neuron Disease (MND), leading to the generation of a widely used mouse model that continues to support disease research and therapeutic development.
In 2014, Ruxandra was awarded a Biomedical Project Grant from the Motor Neuron Disease Association as co-investigator with Professor Kevin Talbot, enabling her to join the Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Research Group and establish a research programme using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to study MND. At a time when this approach was still emerging, she led the first differentiations of iPSCs into motor neurons at the University of Oxford and identified disease-associated phenotypes. Ruxandra subsequently secured an Oxford-Celgene Translational Research Fellowship, applying advanced approaches, including CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering and live cell imaging, to investigate selective neuronal vulnerability in MND/FTD. More recently, supported by a Brain Science Fellowship (2023), she developed platforms to study how subcellular protein disorganisation drives neuronal dysfunction.
In 2026, Ruxandra was awarded an Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellowship and established her independent research group in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and the Kavli Institute. She is also on the Board of Examiners for the MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford.
