DEI Statement
The Todd lab actively supports DEI efforts both within the lab itself and in conjunction with on-campus and in-community outreach events. As lab PI, I am firmly committed to building and supporting an inclusive environment that encourages participation in science by people of diverse backgrounds. Our lab has actively participated in many programs aimed at providing opportunities for junior scientists, including the UM- PREP program, UM-SMART program, UROP/SROP, and most recently by creating a direct support line from our lab discretionary funds to foster participation in the lab by summer students from HBCUs.
Research Interests
We study nucleotide repeat expansions as both mediators of normal neuronal function and drivers of neurologic diseases such as Fragile X Syndrome, FXTAS, ALS, and Frontotemporal Dementia. We use Drosophila, human neurons, biochemical approaches and next gen sequencing to define the mechanisms by which repeats cause disease and develop novel therapeutics. Recent work has focused on both alternative modes of protein translation and the biology repeat containing RNAs.