Dr. Ashraf Al-amoudi

Biography

Dr. Ashraf Al-Amoudi is a biophysicist and electron microscopist. He studied physics at the University of Birzeit in West Bank, Palestine and completed his dissertation in 2004 at the University of Lausanne (supervisor, Prof. Dr. Jacques Dubochet). During his PhD work, he developed and applied cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections to various biological specimens in situ. In 2005, he moved to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Prof. Dr. Achilleas Frangakis, where he studied the molecular structure of intercellular adhesion junctions using cryo-electron tomography of vitreous sections. In 2010, he moved to Bonn to take up a position as a joint group leader at DZNE and center of advanced european studies and research (caesar) in cryo-electron microscopy and tomography of synapses. 

Research Interest

Understanding synaptic structure, function, connectivity and plasticity is fundamental to understanding how the brain works. Our group's aim is to study the structure, the function and plasticity of synapses using a variety of biophysical techniques. These include plunge freezing, high-pressure freezing  and conventional and cryo- electron microscopy and tomography of sections from  animal models, cultured cells or primary cell lines and correlative light and electron microscopy and tomography. In particular we are interested in analyzing the three-dimensional architecture of presynaptic, postsynapatic terminal cytomatrix, the molecular structure of cleft of specific synapses and the structural plasticity in normal aging as well as in neural disorder and age-related dementia (e.g. Alzheimer model disease). Vitrification by plunge freezing and high-pressure freezing enables us to study subtle, transient structural changes (structural plasticity) of synapses associated with functional changes. Synaptic plasticity is fundamental for learning and memory formation where neurons are able to shape their length, structure and distribution of synapses thus accommodating local synaptic activity. Under pathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, uncontrolled large-scale loss of synapses triggers local neural degeneration.  We aim to study these changes at ultrastructural level using correlative light and electron microscopy and tomography.  In addition to own research, we have several collaborations within DZNE and caesar on synapses, protein misfolds, ion channels and receptors.