I study neurodegenerative disease, mitochondrial biology and the roles of mitochondria in disease. I use two model systems to understand the cytopathological pathways involved: 1. The eukaryotic microbe Dictyostelium - 1 of 10 model organisms recognized by the NIH for their value in biomedical research. Dictyostelium provides a tractable, molecular genetic model for mitochondrial disease and neurodegenerative diseases and I am a world leader in this research. 2. Immortalized cultured lymphocytes (lymphoblasts) from human disease patients and healthy control individuals.