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Dr Nicolas Dzamko

Senior Research Fellow
Brain and Mind Centre
Central Clinical School

Member of the Brain and Mind Centre


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Biographical details

Nic Dzamko is a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney. Nic has a biomedical science degree with first class honours and a Chancellors letter of commendation from Flinders University of South Australia and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. Nic has trained at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation unit in Dundee, Scotland. Prior to joining the University of Sydney Nic was a NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship holder in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of NSW and a conjoint research fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia.

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Research interests

Our research group is trying to understand the causes of Parkinson's disease. In particular I focus on genetic causes of Parkinson's disease and whether the genes and proteins involved can be therapeutically targeted to treat Parkinson's disease, and/or be used as biomarkers for earlier diagnosis.

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Current research students

Project title Research student
LRRK2-mediated inflammation and Parkinson�s disease Diba AHMADI RASTEGAR
Characterisation of clinical and pre-clinical synucleinopathies Jasmin GALPER
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Current projects

1. Understanding the biological function of LRRK2 phosphorylation sites.

2. LRRK2 expression in familial Parkinson's disease brain.

3. The effect of LRRK2 inhibitors on the differentiation of neural stem cells.

4. The contribution of TLR2 to alpha-synuclein pathology in Parkinson's disease.

5. The role of LRRK2 in inflammatory TLR signaling pathways.

6. Peripheral GBA activity in Parkinson's disease patients.

7. Rab phosphorylation in Parkinson's disease patient immune cells.

8. Inflammatory biomarkers for Parkinson's disease.

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PhD and master's project opportunities

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Selected grants

2018

  • Inflammatory phenotypes in differentiated human LRRK2 and GBA mutation IPS cell lines; Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Assessing LRRK2, GCase and cytokines in cryopreserved monocytes; Robinson F, Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Are there peripheral changes in GBA protein/activity in idiopathic Parkinson�s disease patients; Halliday G, Lewis S, Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Lipidomics analysis using serum and CSF from LRRK2-associated Parkinson�s disease patients; Dzamko N, Kim W; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Inflammatory markers in GBA carriers with and without PD; Dzamko N, Lewis S, Pope A, Halliday G; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.

2017

  • How does LRRK2 activity effect TLR inflammatory signaling in human IPS-derived monocytes; Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Peripheral Inflammatory cytokine profiling in Parkinson�s disease; Dzamko N, Halliday G; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.

2016

  • Rab detection initiative; Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Are their peripheral changes in GBA protein/activity in idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients; Halliday G, Lewis S, Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Fluorescence tagging of endogenous LRRk2 to enable in vivo imaging in mice and IPS cells; Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
  • Understanding LRRK2 S910/S935 phosphorylation is important for therapeutic LRRK2 inhibitor development; Dzamko N; Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research/Research Support.
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Selected publications

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Book Chapters

  • Dzamko, N. (2017). LRRK2 and the Immune System. In Hardy J. Rideout (Eds.), Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2), (pp. 123-144). Cham: Springer. [More Information]

Journals

  • Zhao, Y., Dzamko, N. (2019). Recent Developments in LRRK2-Targeted Therapy for Parkinson�s Disease. Drugs, 79(10), 1037-1051. [More Information]
  • Zhao, Y., Keshiya, S., Atashrazm, F., Gao, J., Ittner, L., Alessi, D., Halliday, G., Fu, Y., Dzamko, N. (2018). Nigrostriatal pathology with reduced astrocytes in LRRK2 S910/S935 phosphorylation deficient knockin mice. Neurobiology of Disease, 120, 76-87. [More Information]
  • Atashrazm, F., Hammond, D., Perera, G., Dobson-Stone, C., Mueller, N., Pickford, R., Kim, W., Kwok, J., Lewis, S., Halliday, G., Dzamko, N. (2018). Reduced glucocerebrosidase activity in monocytes from patients with Parkinson's disease. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1-12. [More Information]
  • Zhao, Y., Perera, G., Takahashi-Fujigasak, J., Mash, D., Vonsattel, J., Uchino, A., Hasegawa, K., Nichols, J., Holton, J., Murayama, S., Dzamko, N., Halliday, G. (2018). Reduced LRRK2 in association with retromer dysfunction in post-mortem brain tissue from LRRK2 mutation carriers. Brain, 141(2), 486-495. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Gysbers, A., Bandopadhyay, R., Bolliger, M., Uchino, A., Zhao, Y., Takao, M., Wauters, S., Van de Berg, W., Takahashi-Fujigasak, J., et al (2017). LRRK2 levels and phosphorylation in Parkinson's disease brain and cases with restricted Lewy bodies. Movement Disorders, 32(3), 423-432. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Gysbers, A., Perera, G., Bahar, A., Shankar, A., Gao, J., Fu, Y., Halliday, G. (2017). Toll-like receptor 2 is increased in neurons in Parkinson's disease brain and may contribute to alpha-synuclein pathology. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 133(2), 303-319. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Rowe, D., Halliday, G. (2016). Increased peripheral inflammation in asymptomatic leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 mutation carriers. Movement Disorders, 31(6), 889-897. [More Information]
  • Perera, G., Ranola, M., Rowe, D., Halliday, G., Dzamko, N. (2016). Inhibitor treatment of peripheral mononuclear cells from Parkinson's disease patients further validates LRRK2 dephosphorylation as a pharmacodynamic biomarker. Scientific Reports, 6, 1-8. [More Information]
  • Atashrazm, F., Dzamko, N. (2016). LRRK2 inhibitors and their potential in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: Current perspectives. Clinical Pharmacology: Advances and Applications, 8, 177-189. [More Information]
  • Matrone, C., Dzamko, N., Madsen, P., Nyegaard, M., Pohlmann, R., Sondergaard, R., Lassen, L., Andresen, T., Halliday, G., et al (2016). Mannose 6-phosphate receptor is reduced in -synuclein overexpressing models of parkinsons disease. PloS One, 11(8), 1-21. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Geczy, C., Halliday, G. (2015). Inflammation is genetically implicated in Parkinson's disease. Neuroscience, 302, 89-102. [More Information]
  • Munoz, L., Kavanagh, M., Phoa, A., Heng, B., Dzamko, N., Chen, E., Doddareddy, M., Guillemin, G., Kassiou, M. (2015). Optimisation of LRRK2 inhibitors and assessment of functional efficacy in cell-based models of neuroinflammation. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 95, 29-34. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Zhou, J., Huang, Y., Halliday, G. (2014). Parkinson's disease-implicated kinases in the brain; insights into disease pathogenesis. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 7, 1-15. [More Information]
  • Wang, J., Gouda-Vossos, A., Dzamko, N., Halliday, G., Huang, Y. (2013). DNA extraction from fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed, paraffinembedded human brain tissue. Neuroscience Bulletin, 29(5), 649-654. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Chua, G., Ranola, M., Rowe, D., Halliday, G. (2013). Measurement of LRRK2 and Ser910/935 phosphorylated LRRK2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients. Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 3(2), 145-152. [More Information]
  • Deng, X., Elkins, J., Zhang, J., Yang, Q., Erazo, T., Gomez, N., Choi, H., Wang, J., Dzamko, N., et al (2013). Structural determinants for ERK5 (MAPK7) and leucine rich repeat kinase 2 activities of benzo[e]pyrimido-[5,4-b]diazepine-6(11H)-ones. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 70, 758-767. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Halliday, G. (2013). Unlocking the secrets of LRRK2 function with selective kinase inhibitors. Future Neurology, 8(3), 347-357. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Halliday, G. (2012). An emerging role for LRRK2 in the immune system. Biochemical Society Transactions, 40(5), 1134-1139. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Inesta-Vaquera, F., Zhang, J., Xie, C., Cai, H., Arthur, S., Tan, L., Choi, H., Gray, N., et al (2012). The IkappaB kinase family phosphorylates the Parkinson's disease kinase LRRK2 at Ser935 and Ser910 during Toll-Like Receptor signaling. PloS One, 7(6), 1-15. [More Information]
  • Deng, X., Dzamko, N., Prescott, A., Davies, P., Liu, Q., Yang, Q., Lee, J., Patricelli, M., Nomanbhoy, T., et al (2011). Characterization of a selective inhibitor of the Parkinson's disease kinase LRRK2. Nature Chemical Biology, 7(4), 203-205. [More Information]
  • Jeppesen, J., Albers, P., Rose, A., Birk, J., Schjerling, P., Dzamko, N., Steinberg, G., Kiens, B. (2011). Contraction-induced skeletal muscle FAT/CD36 trafficking and FA uptake is AMPK independent. Journal of Lipid Research, 52(4), 699-711. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Alessi, D. (2011). LRRK2 mutations, regulation and 14-3-3 protein interaction: Implications for Parkinsons disease. Future Neurology, 6(1), 5-8. [More Information]

2019

  • Zhao, Y., Dzamko, N. (2019). Recent Developments in LRRK2-Targeted Therapy for Parkinson�s Disease. Drugs, 79(10), 1037-1051. [More Information]

2018

  • Zhao, Y., Keshiya, S., Atashrazm, F., Gao, J., Ittner, L., Alessi, D., Halliday, G., Fu, Y., Dzamko, N. (2018). Nigrostriatal pathology with reduced astrocytes in LRRK2 S910/S935 phosphorylation deficient knockin mice. Neurobiology of Disease, 120, 76-87. [More Information]
  • Atashrazm, F., Hammond, D., Perera, G., Dobson-Stone, C., Mueller, N., Pickford, R., Kim, W., Kwok, J., Lewis, S., Halliday, G., Dzamko, N. (2018). Reduced glucocerebrosidase activity in monocytes from patients with Parkinson's disease. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1-12. [More Information]
  • Zhao, Y., Perera, G., Takahashi-Fujigasak, J., Mash, D., Vonsattel, J., Uchino, A., Hasegawa, K., Nichols, J., Holton, J., Murayama, S., Dzamko, N., Halliday, G. (2018). Reduced LRRK2 in association with retromer dysfunction in post-mortem brain tissue from LRRK2 mutation carriers. Brain, 141(2), 486-495. [More Information]

2017

  • Dzamko, N. (2017). LRRK2 and the Immune System. In Hardy J. Rideout (Eds.), Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2), (pp. 123-144). Cham: Springer. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Gysbers, A., Bandopadhyay, R., Bolliger, M., Uchino, A., Zhao, Y., Takao, M., Wauters, S., Van de Berg, W., Takahashi-Fujigasak, J., et al (2017). LRRK2 levels and phosphorylation in Parkinson's disease brain and cases with restricted Lewy bodies. Movement Disorders, 32(3), 423-432. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Gysbers, A., Perera, G., Bahar, A., Shankar, A., Gao, J., Fu, Y., Halliday, G. (2017). Toll-like receptor 2 is increased in neurons in Parkinson's disease brain and may contribute to alpha-synuclein pathology. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 133(2), 303-319. [More Information]

2016

  • Dzamko, N., Rowe, D., Halliday, G. (2016). Increased peripheral inflammation in asymptomatic leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 mutation carriers. Movement Disorders, 31(6), 889-897. [More Information]
  • Perera, G., Ranola, M., Rowe, D., Halliday, G., Dzamko, N. (2016). Inhibitor treatment of peripheral mononuclear cells from Parkinson's disease patients further validates LRRK2 dephosphorylation as a pharmacodynamic biomarker. Scientific Reports, 6, 1-8. [More Information]
  • Atashrazm, F., Dzamko, N. (2016). LRRK2 inhibitors and their potential in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: Current perspectives. Clinical Pharmacology: Advances and Applications, 8, 177-189. [More Information]
  • Matrone, C., Dzamko, N., Madsen, P., Nyegaard, M., Pohlmann, R., Sondergaard, R., Lassen, L., Andresen, T., Halliday, G., et al (2016). Mannose 6-phosphate receptor is reduced in -synuclein overexpressing models of parkinsons disease. PloS One, 11(8), 1-21. [More Information]

2015

  • Dzamko, N., Geczy, C., Halliday, G. (2015). Inflammation is genetically implicated in Parkinson's disease. Neuroscience, 302, 89-102. [More Information]
  • Munoz, L., Kavanagh, M., Phoa, A., Heng, B., Dzamko, N., Chen, E., Doddareddy, M., Guillemin, G., Kassiou, M. (2015). Optimisation of LRRK2 inhibitors and assessment of functional efficacy in cell-based models of neuroinflammation. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 95, 29-34. [More Information]

2014

  • Dzamko, N., Zhou, J., Huang, Y., Halliday, G. (2014). Parkinson's disease-implicated kinases in the brain; insights into disease pathogenesis. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 7, 1-15. [More Information]

2013

  • Wang, J., Gouda-Vossos, A., Dzamko, N., Halliday, G., Huang, Y. (2013). DNA extraction from fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed, paraffinembedded human brain tissue. Neuroscience Bulletin, 29(5), 649-654. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Chua, G., Ranola, M., Rowe, D., Halliday, G. (2013). Measurement of LRRK2 and Ser910/935 phosphorylated LRRK2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients. Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 3(2), 145-152. [More Information]
  • Deng, X., Elkins, J., Zhang, J., Yang, Q., Erazo, T., Gomez, N., Choi, H., Wang, J., Dzamko, N., et al (2013). Structural determinants for ERK5 (MAPK7) and leucine rich repeat kinase 2 activities of benzo[e]pyrimido-[5,4-b]diazepine-6(11H)-ones. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 70, 758-767. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Halliday, G. (2013). Unlocking the secrets of LRRK2 function with selective kinase inhibitors. Future Neurology, 8(3), 347-357. [More Information]

2012

  • Dzamko, N., Halliday, G. (2012). An emerging role for LRRK2 in the immune system. Biochemical Society Transactions, 40(5), 1134-1139. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Inesta-Vaquera, F., Zhang, J., Xie, C., Cai, H., Arthur, S., Tan, L., Choi, H., Gray, N., et al (2012). The IkappaB kinase family phosphorylates the Parkinson's disease kinase LRRK2 at Ser935 and Ser910 during Toll-Like Receptor signaling. PloS One, 7(6), 1-15. [More Information]

2011

  • Deng, X., Dzamko, N., Prescott, A., Davies, P., Liu, Q., Yang, Q., Lee, J., Patricelli, M., Nomanbhoy, T., et al (2011). Characterization of a selective inhibitor of the Parkinson's disease kinase LRRK2. Nature Chemical Biology, 7(4), 203-205. [More Information]
  • Jeppesen, J., Albers, P., Rose, A., Birk, J., Schjerling, P., Dzamko, N., Steinberg, G., Kiens, B. (2011). Contraction-induced skeletal muscle FAT/CD36 trafficking and FA uptake is AMPK independent. Journal of Lipid Research, 52(4), 699-711. [More Information]
  • Dzamko, N., Alessi, D. (2011). LRRK2 mutations, regulation and 14-3-3 protein interaction: Implications for Parkinsons disease. Future Neurology, 6(1), 5-8. [More Information]
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