Q&A with Bernardo Aguzzoli Heberle: Studying RNA to Find Molecular Targets for Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment
April 15, 2025Bernardo Aguzzoli Heberle, a PhD student at the University of Kentucky, is examining the role of RNA in Alzheimer’s disease to identify new targets for early diagnostics and treatments.
Bernardo Aguzzoli Heberle personally understands the toll that Alzheimer’s disease can have on a family, as both of his grandfathers were diagnosed with the debilitating neurological disease.
As PhD student at the University of Kentucky, Aguzzoli Heberle works in the lab of Mark Ebbert, an associate professor at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, using computational approaches and cutting-edge technologies to identify new targets for early diagnostics and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
Aguzzoli Heberle received a 2025 PhRMA Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in Drug Discovery for his work examining RNA, a molecule that helps cells turn DNA instructions into functional proteins. Using long-read RNA sequencing, he will compare RNA in brain tissue from Alzheimer’s cases and healthy controls to identify any associations with Alzheimer’s status.
Watch this video to learn more about Aguzzoli Heberle and his research.
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