D. Cristopher Bragg, Ph.D.


Associate Investigator
Neurology, Mass General Research Institute
Associate Professor of Neurology
Harvard Medical School
Affiliate Faculty
Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Director
MGH Collaborative Center for X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital
dystonia; dystonia cell culture models; dystonia musculorum deformans; dyt1; dyt6; induced pluripotent stem cells; molecular chaperones; neurodegeneration; organelles; primary fibroblasts; thap1; x-linked dystonia parkinsonism Research in the Bragg laboratory is directed towards the identification of pathogenic mechanisms underlying hereditary forms of dystonia and the development of screening tools to seek novel candidates for treating these disorders.  Their approach involves the derivation and characterization of dystonia cell culture models, including primary fibroblasts, lymphoblasts, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can be used for probing cellular defects and testing candidate therapeutics.  Current projects are focused on studies of DYT1 and DYT6 dystonias, linked to mutations in TOR1A and THAP1, respectively, as well as X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (XDP), for which the genetic lesion is not yet known.
Research lab website Publications
bragg@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
6176435754

CNY-Building #149
149 13th Street
Charlestown, MA 02129