Cristina Roman-Vendrell, Ph.D.
Neurobiology, Neurodegeneration, Membrane Trafficking, & Synaptic Biology
Home Campus: Armstrong
cromanvendrell@georgiasouthern.eduu
912-344-2607
Research Areas
Neurobiology, Neurodegeneration, Membrane Trafficking, and Synaptic Biology
Education
University of Puerto Rico – Medical Sciences Campus, Ph.D. Physiology
Publications
- Román-Vendrell C, Wallace JN, Watson AH, Celikag M, Bartels T, Morgan JR. Acute introduction of monomeric or multimeric α-synuclein induced distinct impacts on synaptic vesicle trafficking at lamprey giant synapses. The Journal of Physiology. November 12, 2024. DOI:10.1113/JP286281.
- Román-Vendrell C, Medeiros AT, Sanderson JB, Jiang H, Bartels T, Morgan JR. Effects of Excess Brain-Derived Human α-Synuclein on Synaptic Vesicle Trafficking. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2021;15:639414. PMID: 33613189; PMCID: PMC7890186.
- Wallace JN, Crockford ZC, Román-Vendrell C, et al. Excess phosphoserine-129 α-synuclein induces synaptic vesicle trafficking and declustering defects at a vertebrate synapse. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2024;35(1):ar10. PMID: 37991902; PMCID: PMC10881165.
- Akshita C, …, …, Román-Vendrell C, …, …, Morgan JR, Milovanovic D. Condensates of synaptic vesicles and synapsin are molecular beacons for actin sequestering and polymerization. Accepted pending revisions, The EMBO Journal, 2025.
Funding
Current Grants
Previous Grants
- NINDS K99 grant; Román-Vendrell (PI); 07/01/2023 – 06/30/2025; Mechanisms of endosomal dysfunction at synapses in α-synuclein pathology.
Research Projects
Mechanisms of Endosomal Dysfunction at Synapses in α-Synuclein Pathology.
Our lab studies how changes in neuronal membrane trafficking contribute to synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration. Using the lamprey nervous system and advanced imaging, we investigate how different forms of the protein α-synuclein, including those linked to Parkinson’s disease, affect vesicle and endosomal dynamics at synapses. This work provides new insight into the cellular mechanisms underlying brain disorders and offers students hands-on experience in neurobiology and microscopy.
Research Group
Undergraduate Students
- Sofia Silas