Sampada Tamhankar is a PhD candidate in the Department of Drug Discovery and Development at Auburn University, where she conducts her research in Dr. Rajesh Amin’s laboratory. Dr. Amin’s group focuses on developing novel small-molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases—including Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Sampada’s work centers on understanding remyelination mechanisms in FTD using a novel LXR agonist, AU403, with a goal of identifying pathways that can restore myelin and improve clinical outcomes. FTD is currently the second most prevalent cause of dementia and lacks any approved therapeutic options; it also disproportionately affects military personnel who have experienced combat duty.

In this webinar, Ms. Tamhankar will present one of the core experimental platforms used in the Amin lab: mouse organotypic brain slice cultures prepared with the Precisionary Compresstome. This methodology enables the study of molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways that drive CNS remyelination.

In this webinar, Dr. Wu will:

– Explain the generation and significance of hippocampal sharp waves in ex vivo brain slices
– Share practical skills for preparing high-quality slices using the Compresstome® vibrating microtome
– Highlight examples of pharmacological agents that modulate sharp wave activity and their relevance to neurodegenerative disease research