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Alexandre de Lencastre, PhD, is a Professor of Biology, the Director of the Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) Masters Program and the co-chair of QUIP-RS (QU Interdisciplinary Program for Research and Scholarship) at Quinnipiac University. He obtained his BS in Biochemistry from Georgetown University, and completed a PhD in the lab of Dr. Anna Pyle at Columbia University and his post-doctoral training in the lab of Dr. Frank Slack at Yale University. His teaching includes Genetics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and he has an active research lab that utilizes the model organism C. elegans to study aging and neurodegeneration. Alex de Lencastre was born and raised in Portugal and moved to New York City during 10th grade in high school.

The de Lencastre lab is interested in the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) and other non-coding RNAs in biology – with emphasis on roles in stress resistance during adulthood. His lab has identified miRNAs that dramatically affect animal lifespan and stress resistance. Currently, the lab is testing the molecular targets of these miRNAs and possible functions in models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. Given the high conservation of miRNAs across species, insights from this research may inform on diseases of aging in humans.

Education

  • PHD, Columbia University

Areas of Expertise

  • Genetics
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Aging
  • Neurodegenerative diseases - Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease

Organization

  • Biological Sciences

Office Location

  • Buckman Center BC121A

Mail Drop

  • BC-SCI

Experience

Quinnipiac University

Professor of Biology

Hamden, CT, USA

2022 - Present

Quinnipiac University

Associate Professor of Biology

Hamden, CT, USA

2018 - 2022

Quinnipiac University

Assistant Professor of Biology

Hamden, CT, USA

2013 - 2018

Yale University

Post-doctoral fellow

New Haven, CT, USA

2006 - 2013

Columbia University

Doctoral Student

New York, NY, USA

1998 - 2005

Selected Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal

Regulation of TIR-1/SARM-1 by miR-71 Protects Dopaminergic Neurons in a C. elegans Model of LRRK2-Induced Parkinson’s Disease

Naidoo D., de Lencastre A.

25(16) Int. J. Mol. Sci. 8795 (2024)

Peer Reviewed Journal

Conservation and Targets of miR-71: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Naidoo N., Brennan R., and de Lencastre A

9(4) Noncoding RNA 41 Jul (2023)

Peer Reviewed Journal Article Review

Parkinson’s Disease and MicroRNAs - Lessons from Model Organisms and Human Studies

Evans B, Furlong H, and de Lencastre A

155 Experimental Gerontology 111585 November (2021)