Carmo Costa

Carmo Costa, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at Michigan State University (MSU). Their lab focuses on mechanisms of neurodegeneration and developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 3 (SCA3/Machado-Joseph Disease). They hold affiliations with the College of Human Medicine and maintain a lab website with research details. Costa has held previous positions at the University of Michigan, including Research Assistant Professor and Research Investigator, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Translational Neurology there. Their education includes a PhD in Life and Biomedical Sciences from the University of Minho and a Licenciatura in Biochemistry from the University of Porto.

Research interests center on neurodegenerative pathways, polyglutamine diseases, and therapeutic strategies targeting ATXN3 protein regulation. Key projects include investigating aripiprazole derivatives for SCA3, allele-specific gene therapy, and defining biomarkers for disease progression. Funding sources include the National Ataxia Foundation, NINDS, and industry partnerships like Cydan Development Inc.

Notable contributions include identifying blood-based biomarkers for MJD, characterizing retinal pathology in SCA3, and exploring autophagy mechanisms in neurodegeneration. The lab also collaborates on drug repurposing and stem cell models for disease modeling. Current open positions are available for graduate students and postdocs via email contact.