Rudi Balling

Prof. Rudi Balling (RB) leads the Experimental Neurobiology group and is the director of the LCSB. His group studies the genetic and molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease. Single and combinatorial gene perturbations are applied via gene knockdown and gene overexpression methods in neuronal cell culture models. Subsequently, a number of physiological and pathophysiological processes are analysed (e.g., the mitochondrial membrane potential and turnover, NADH turnover or ROS production). For this purpose the group performs live cell imaging experiments combined with an automated image analysis pipeline to extract a wide range of features that characterise cellular and organelle function.