About Julie
Dr. Moreno is an Assistant Professor in the Prion Research Center. Dr. Moreno’s research focuses on the mechanisms of misfolding proteins in the brain during neurodegenerative diseases and aging that cause neuronal toxicity. Ongoing studies include: 1.) understanding the cellular mechanisms that allow neurons and glia to be vulnerable during aging and neurodegenerative misfolding proteins diseases (NPMDs) such as tauopathies and prion diseases, 2.) utilizing stem cell therapies to therapeutically intervene neuronal loss by decreasing the neuroinflammation and replacing the loss neurons in a safe and translatable way. 3.) Take a multifaceted approach to neurodegenerative treatments by using genetic and/or small molecules to target cellular stress pathways like the unfolded protein response (UPR), redox homeostasis and oxidative stress in combination with cell therapies to rescue neuronal phenotypes of NPMDs and aging.
Education
PhD - Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, 2009BS - Biomedical Science, Texas A&M University, 2004
Publications
Popichak KA, Hammond SL, Moreno JA, Afzali MF, Backos DS, Slayden RD, Safe S, Tjalkens RB. Compensatory Expression of Nur77 and Nurr1 Regulates NF-?B-Dependent Inflammatory Signaling in Astrocytes. Mol Pharmacol. 2018 Oct;94(4):1174-1186. Kane, S.J., Farley, T.K., Gordon, E.O., Estep, J., Bender, H.R., Moreno, J.A., Bartz, J., Telling, G.C., Pickering, M.C. & Zabel, M.D. (2017) Complement Regulatory Protein Factor H Is a Soluble Prion Receptor That Potentiates Peripheral Prion Pathogenesis. J Immunol.M. Halliday, H. Radford, K. A.M. Zents, C. Molloy, J. A. Moreno, N. C. Verity, E. Smith, C. A. Ortori, D. A. Barrett, M. Bushell and G. R. Mallucci. (2017) Repurposed drugs targeting eIF2a-P-mediated translational repression prevent neurodegeneration in mice. Brian.140(6):1768-1783.S. J. Bradley, J.M Bourgognon, H.E. Sanger, N.Verity, A.J. Mogg, D.J. White, A.J. Butcher, J.A. Moreno, C. Molloy, T. Macedo-Hatch, J.M. Edwards, J. Wess, R. Pawlak, D. J. Read, P.M. Sexton, L.M. Broad, J.R. Steinert, G. R. Mallucci, A. Christopoulos, C.C. Felder, and A.B. Tobin. (2017) M1-muscarinic allosteric modulators slow prion neurodegeneration and restore memory loss. J Clin Invest. 127(2): 487-499. Halliday, M., Radford, H., Sekine, Y., Moreno, J., Verity, N., le Quesne, J., Ortori, C.A., Barrett, D.A., Fromont, C., Fischer, P.M., et al. (2015). Partial restoration of protein synthesis rates by the small molecule ISRIB prevents neurodegeneration without pancreatic toxicity. Cell Death Dis 6, e1672.