Aaron D. Gitler

Aaron D. Gitler is a Professor in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University, with affiliations to the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Bio-X. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of protein-misfolding diseases like Parkinson's disease, ALS, and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system.

• Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania (2004)
• B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University (2000)

Gitler's work explores conserved cellular pathways that mitigate neurodegeneration, particularly through genetic and small molecule screens to identify modifiers of TDP-43 and C9orf72 toxicity. His lab has pioneered yeast-to-human translational approaches for ALS/FTD research.

His recent publications address:

• TDP-43's role in UNC13A cryptic exon splicing (2022)
• ER stress and p53 pathway activation in C9orf72 dipeptide repeat neurotoxicity (2021)
• CRISPR-Cas9 screens for modifiers of C9ORF72 DPR toxicity (2018)
• Ataxin-2's role as a genetic modifier in ALS (2010)

Scientific honors include:

• Gordon Research Conference Lecturer (2024)
• NINDS R35 Research Program Award (2016)
• NIH Director's New Innovator Award (2008)
• Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences (2008)

Gitler collaborates with laboratories worldwide to validate genetic modifiers in mouse, fly, and human cell models, and actively participates in teaching programs through Stanford's Neurogenetics Core courses.