My name is Atcharaporn Ontawong, and I am a second-year postdoctoral scholar at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging under the mentorship of Anika Hartz, PhD. My journey with the Hartz lab began in 2018 when, as a PhD student from Thailand, I joined the group through a scholarship from Thailand's Research and Researcher for Industry program. This opportunity was facilitated by my PhD advisor, Dr. Chutima Vaddhanaphuti, who had established a strong professional relationship and friendship with Dr. Anika Hartz during their postdoctoral training at the NIH.
During my initial tenure in the Hartz lab, I acquired valuable technical skills foundational to my scientific career. Under Dr. Hartz’ mentorship, I contributed to two significant projects investigating oxidative stress-mediated barrier dysfunction in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model. After earning my PhD in 2018 and securing a lecturer position at the University of Phayao in Thailand, I was fortunate to return to the Hartz lab as a postdoctoral researcher. This experience has been instrumental in deepening my expertise and advancing my research ambitions.
My current research project focuses on developing therapeutic strategies to repair barrier dysfunction and lower amyloid-β brain burden, with the ultimate goal of slowing cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Two key elements of barrier dysfunction include the loss of P-glycoprotein, a transporter responsible for clearing amyloid-β from the brain, and the development of barrier leakage. We discovered that oxidative stress drives barrier leakage and that restoring P-glycoprotein function by activating the nuclear receptor PXR enhances amyloid-β clearance. Currently, I am conducting a long-term study using double-transgenic hAPP/hPXR mice treated with two FDA-approved drugs to activate human PXR and scavenge reactive oxygen species. As I continue my training at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, I am motivated to advance this research, uncover new insights into brain health, and develop novel therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease.