Lauren Buckett

Lauren Buckett researches in Metobolic dysfunction in Motor Neuron Disease/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is a fatal neurological disease that causes the death of motor neurons within the central nervous system. 
The death of these motor neurons leads to progressive paralysis and eventual death, on average, 27 months after diagnosis. There is currently no effective treatment for MND and no known cure.

As a team, the Ngo group aims to better understand disease mechanisms of MND and test compounds that may have the potential to become treatments and hopefully, one day, find a cure for this relentless disease. Of particular interest to the team, is the metabolic dysfunctions that have been identified in MND patients, and how this might be linked to fatigue – a prevalent and debilitating symptom that impacts quality of life for patients.

Given the major role that mitochondria plays in metabolism, Lauren's research aims to identify changes in mitochondrial function within the context of MND and further understand how these alterations impact overall disease. 

Lauren completed a Bachelor's degree in Psychological Science from the Australian College of Applied Psychology in 2017 before completing a Master's of Biomedical Science from The University of Melbourne, where she investigated motor dysfunctions in a mouse model of Frontal Temporal Dementia.

She is now a PhD candidate in the Ngo group focusing on how changes to mitochondrial function and fatigue impacts disease in the context of MND.