Staff Profile

I was a medical trainee in China and joined the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University in 2015 to pursue my PhD with Dr Amy Reeve and Professor Sir Doug Turnbull. My PhD project focused on the response of human substantia nigra neurons to mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's and mitochondrial diseases. I completed my PhD in 2019 and have continued my research on mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration ever since.

My research aims to provide deeper insights into neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease and contribute to the development of novel diagnostic markers and therapeutic strategies.

During my PhD and first postdoctoral project, funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation (PIs: Dr. Amy Reeve and Professor Doug Turnbull), I explored age-related mitochondrial changes in Parkinson’s disease using advanced techniques, including high-plex imaging and imaging mass cytometry to profile mitochondrial proteins homeostasis—critical for understanding disease progression.

In my second postdoctoral project, funded by Parkinson’s UK (PIs: Professor Gavin Hudson and Dr. Amy Reeve), I investigated mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation to identify early disease markers, aiming to enhance early detection and intervention strategies.

Currently, as an Alzheimer's Society UK fellow, I am investigating disease mechanisms in Lewy body dementia. My work involves developing cellular models using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived dopaminergic neurons and astrocytes to identify disease markers and conduct high-throughput drug screening.

• Articles

  • Dobolyi A, Cservenak M, Bago AG, Chen C, Stepanova A, Paal K, Lee J, Palkovits M, Hudson G, Chinopoulos C. Cell-specific expression of key mitochondrial enzymes limits OXPHOS in astrocytes of the adult human neocortex and hippocampal formation. Communications Biology 2024, 7(1), 1045.
  • Vincent AE, Chen C, Gomes TB, Di Leo V, Laalo T, Pabis K, Capaldi R, Marusich MF, McDonald D, Filby A, Fuller A, Lehmann Urban D, Zierz S, Deschauer M, Turnbull D, Reeve AK, Lawless C. A stagewise response to mitochondrial dysfunction in mitochondrial DNA maintenance disorders. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease 2024, 1870(5), 167131.
  • Chen C, McDonald D, Blain A, Mossman E, Atkin K, Marusich MF, Capaldi R, Bone L, Smith A, Filby A, Erskine D, Russell O, Hudson G, Vincent AE, Reeve AK. Parkinson’s disease neurons exhibit alterations in mitochondrial quality control proteins. npj Parkinson's Disease 2023, 9, 120.
  • Smith LA, Chen C, Lax NZ, Taylor RW, Erskine D, McFarland R. Astrocytic pathology in Alpers’ syndrome. Acta Neuropathologica Communications 2023, 11, 86.
  • Yu X, Arden C, Berlinguer-Palmini R, Chen C, Bradshaw C, Smith AL, Whitehall J, White M, Anderson S, Kattner N, Shaw J, Turnbull D, Greaves LC, Walker M. Mitochondrial complex I subunit deficiency promotes pancreatic α-cell proliferation. Molecular Metabolism 2022, 60, 101489.
  • Chen C, Mossman E, Malko P, McDonald D, Blain AP, Bone L, Erskine D, Filby A, Vincent AE, Hudson G, Reeve AK. Astrocytic Changes in Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation Protein Levels in Parkinson's Disease. Movement Disorders 2022, 37(2), 302-314.
  • Chen C, McDonald D, Blain A, Sachdeva A, Bone L, Smith ALM, Warren C, Pickett SJ, Hudson G, Filby A, Vincent AE, Turnbull DM, Reeve AK. Imaging mass cytometry reveals generalised deficiency in OXPHOS complexes in Parkinson’s disease. npj Parkinson's Disease 2021, 7(1), 39.
  • Chen C, Vincent AE, Blain AP, Smith AL, Turnbull DM, Reeve AK. Investigation of mitochondrial biogenesis defects in single substantia nigra neurons using post-mortem human tissues. Neurobiology of Disease 2020, 134, 104631.
  • Vincent AE, Rosa HS, Pabis K, Lawless C, Chen C, Grünewald A, Rygiel K, Rocha MC, Reeve AK, Falkous G, Perissi V, White K, Davey T, Petrof BJ, Sayer AA, Cooper C, Deehan D, Taylor RW, Turnbull DM, Picard M. Subcellular origin of mitochondrial DNA deletions in human skeletal muscle. Annals of Neurology 2018, 84(2), 289-301.
  • Reeve AK, Grady JP, Cosgrave EM, Bennison E, Chen C, Hepplewhite PD, Morris CM. Mitochondrial dysfunction within the synapses of substantia nigra neurons in Parkinson’s disease. npj Parkinson's Disease 2018, 4, 9.

• Review

  • Chen C, Turnbull DM, Reeve AK. Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease - Cause or Consequence?. Biology 2019, 8(2), 38.