QUBIC Seminar with Dr Dzung Do-Ha

Speaker: Dr Dzung Do-Ha (UoW)
Date: Thursday 27 July 1pm – 2pm AEST
Zoom: Click here to join the seminar

Abstract:

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterised by the loss of motor neurons leading to progressive paralysis. Two hallmarks of the disease are the mislocalisation and aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43, and changes to the excitability of motor neurons. In this talk, I will discuss how we are using Diamond Voltage Imaging Microscopy (DVIM), a label-free voltage sensing technique, to study both of these pathologies.

Under pathological conditions, TDP-43 undergoes aberrant phase separation into condensates that can mature into the toxic aggregates characteristic of ALS. The surface charge of these condensates is emerging as an important regulator of their stability and interfacial behaviour and recent evidence suggests it may even locally influence the membrane potential of a cell. Yet the charge of condensates has remained difficult to measure directly. Using DVIM, we mapped the charge distribution of TDP-43 condensates, revealing genotype-dependent differences between wild-type and an ALS-associated variant.
Beyond condensates, DVIM also offers a route to directly imaging neuronal voltage. I will update on our progress toward capturing the electrical activity of living human neurons, benchmarked against established electrophysiological techniques.

Together, this work demonstrates the potential of DVIM as a label-free tool for measuring the electrochemical properties of biological systems, which can offer new insights into neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS.

Bio:
Dr Dzung Do-Ha is a Research Fellow in the Neurodevelopment and Neurodegeneration Laboratory at the University of Wollongong, led by Professor Lezanne Ooi. A cellular neuroscientist by training, she studies how neurons communicate and why these processes fail in neurodegenerative disease. Her work combines human stem cell-derived disease models, electrophysiology, and emerging quantum-enabled tools. With a background in whole-cell patch clamping and microelectrode arrays, she is now applying Diamond Voltage Imaging Microscopy (DVIM) to neuroscience, aiming to reveal how neuronal function is altered in disease and to support future therapeutic discovery.