Timothy Sargeant

Timothy Sargeant

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Dr Tim Sargeant BBMedSc. (Human genetics), Hons. 1st Class, Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), PhD, Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand) - TITLEHOLDER.

Twitter: @timsargeant1
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Timothy-Sargeant

Dr Tim Sargeant started his career in neuroscience with a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Tim went on to two postdoctoral positions at the Department of Medicine and the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge (UK) where he researched the cell’s recycling machinery (called the lysosomal system) and obtained training in molecular and cell biology. Tim was appointed to head of Lysosomal Health in Ageing in the Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology (formally the Lysosomal Diseases Research Unit) at SAHMRI in 2015. His current research focuses on the role of lysosomal recycling in common age-related disease such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The lysosomal system is important for slowing cell ageing, as it removes damaged and unwanted material from the cell. This process is critically important for healthy brain function. Work from Lysosomal Health in Ageing has shown that this system is damaged in Alzheimer’s disease, and that changes in genes that are involved in the lysosomal system are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Our current research focuses on development of methods for measurement of lysosomal system activity (through a process called autophagy) in humans. We are also developing interventions that improve the lysosomal system with the goal of delaying Alzheimer’s disease.

Current student positions available (Honours/Masters/PhD available):

Group: Lysosomal Health in Ageing, Lifelong Health Theme, SAHMRI

Contact: Dr Tim Sargeant, Tim.Sargeant@SAHMRI.com, please add “STUDENT PROJECT” to the subject line

Project: “Reduced protein intake counteracts Alzheimer’s disease: examination of nutrition signaling and the lysosomal system.”

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) leads to the progressive formation and spread of what are termed ‘plaques’ in the brain, which impair its function and cause dementia. When we are young, our brain can efficiently clear plaque-related material and prevent it from building up. However, starting from middle age, this clearance system (called ‘autophagy’) works less efficiently and plaques can start to accumulate and spread. Our group has found autophagy can destroy the material that contributes to plaques and that we can activate autophagy using drugs or restricting certain nutrients in the diet. These nutrients include amino acids (the building blocks of protein), which help to suppress the rate of clearance. As a part of a larger study, we are looking for a student to determine the effect of dietary protein on prevention of amyloid plaque formation in the brain. The student will also use laboratory models to determine whether this dietary intervention works through autophagy. At the end of the project, the student will be proficient in applying dietary interventions to laboratory models, behavioural measurements, and assessment of Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology. We will consider Honours, Masters, or PhD students for this project.

 

Group: Lysosomal Health in Ageing, Lifelong Health Theme, SAHMRI

Contact: Dr Tim Sargeant, Tim.Sargeant@SAHMRI.com, please add “STUDENT PROJECT” to the subject line

Project: “The molecular basis of healthy ageing: exploring the intersection between ageing, obesity, and autophagy.”

Autophagy actively repairs cell damage driven by ageing, obesity, and chronic inflammation, which are all highly related biological processes. Preclinical studies have shown that inefficient autophagic function contributes to development of age-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease and dementia. We hypothesise that individuals who cannot aggressively upregulate autophagy in response to ageing will be at a higher risk of developing age-related disease. This project will test this hypothesis by determining how autophagy changes in multiple different tissues (including leukocytes, heart, and brain tissues) using autophagy reporter tf-LC3 transgenic laboratory models. The student will also assess whether decreased autophagy increases age- and obesity-related cell damage, inflammation, and cognitive decline in autophagy-deficient Becn1+/- laboratory models. It is highly likely that changes in autophagic function mechanistically link ageing and obesity with major age-related diseases in humans. Determining the extent of this relationship will eventually help to identify people with a higher disease risk that would benefit from autophagy-augmenting interventions. At the successful completion of this project, the student will be proficient in dietary interventions with laboratory models, behavioural measurement, and the use of transgenic laboratory models to investigate age-related cell biology. We will consider Honours, Masters, or PhD students for this project.

 

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2023 Principal Supervisor Lysosomal function in cellular senescence Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Hourieh Tousianshandiz
  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 - 2024 Principal Supervisor Beyond LC3-associated phagocytosis: cross-talk between autophagy and efferocytosis during microglial corpse clearance Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Sanjna Singh
    2018 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Investigation of the Endolysosomal Network in A Drosophila Model of Alzheimer’s Disease Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Sher Li Tan
    2015 - 2020 Co-Supervisor The Role of Heterozygous Lysosomal Storage Disorder Alleles as Risk Factors for Dementia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Lauren Sue Whyte

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