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Professor Adam Walker
Professor

Adam Walker

Email: 

Overview

Background

Dr Adam Walker received his BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Tasmania, and PhD in Neuroscience from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of motor neuron disease (MND). He undertook a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Virginia Lee at the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (2011-2015), developing new transgenic TDP-43 mouse models of disease. Dr Walker was previously an NHMRC CJ Martin Overseas Biomedical Research Fellow and was awarded an NHMRC RD Wright Career Development Fellowship (2018-2022), to continue his research on neurodegenerative diseases. His research has been supported by fellowships and project grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation, Dementia Australia, Motor Neuron Disease Research Institute of Australia, MonSTaR Foundation and the Cure for MND Foundation.

Availability

Professor Adam Walker is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Melbourne

Research interests

  • Motor neuron disease (MND)/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

    Molecular mechanisms of disease and pre-clinical studies in model systems.

Works

Search Professor Adam Walker’s works on UQ eSpace

61 works between 2007 and 2025

21 - 40 of 61 works

2022

Journal Article

Impaired glymphatic function in the early stages of disease in a TDP-43 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Zamani, Akram, Walker, Adam K., Rollo, Ben, Ayers, Katie L., Farah, Raysha, O’Brien, Terence J. and Wright, David K. (2022). Impaired glymphatic function in the early stages of disease in a TDP-43 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Translational Neurodegeneration, 11 (1) 17, 1-11. doi: 10.1186/s40035-022-00291-4

Impaired glymphatic function in the early stages of disease in a TDP-43 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2022

Journal Article

Early and progressive dysfunction revealed by in vivo neurite imaging in the rNLS8 TDP-43 mouse model of ALS

Zamani, Akram, Walker, Adam K., Rollo, Ben, Ayers, Katie L., Farah, Raysha, O'Brien, Terence J. and Wright, David K. (2022). Early and progressive dysfunction revealed by in vivo neurite imaging in the rNLS8 TDP-43 mouse model of ALS. NeuroImage: Clinical, 34 103016, 103016. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103016

Early and progressive dysfunction revealed by in vivo neurite imaging in the rNLS8 TDP-43 mouse model of ALS

2022

Journal Article

miR-23a suppression accelerates functional decline in the rNLS8 mouse model of TDP-43 proteinopathy

Tsitkanou, Stavroula, Della Gatta, Paul A., Abbott, Gavin, Wallace, Marita A., Lindsay, Angus, Gerlinger-Romero, Frederico, Walker, Adam K., Foletta, Victoria C. and Russell, Aaron P. (2022). miR-23a suppression accelerates functional decline in the rNLS8 mouse model of TDP-43 proteinopathy. Neurobiology of Disease, 162 105559, 105559. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105559

miR-23a suppression accelerates functional decline in the rNLS8 mouse model of TDP-43 proteinopathy

2021

Journal Article

Mislocalisation of TDP-43 to the cytoplasm causes cortical hyperexcitability and reduced excitatory neurotransmission in the motor cortex (vol 157, pg 1300, 2020)

Dyer, Marcus S., Reale, Laura A., Lewis, Katherine E., Walker, Adam K., Dickson, Tracey C., Woodhouse, Adele and Blizzard, Catherine A. (2021). Mislocalisation of TDP-43 to the cytoplasm causes cortical hyperexcitability and reduced excitatory neurotransmission in the motor cortex (vol 157, pg 1300, 2020). Journal of Neurochemistry, 159 (4), 789-790. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15494

Mislocalisation of TDP-43 to the cytoplasm causes cortical hyperexcitability and reduced excitatory neurotransmission in the motor cortex (vol 157, pg 1300, 2020)

2021

Journal Article

Riluzole does not ameliorate disease caused by cytoplasmic TDP‐43 in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Wright, Amanda L., Della Gatta, Paul A., Le, Sheng, Berning, Britt A., Mehta, Prachi, Jacobs, Kelly R., Gul, Hossai, San Gil, Rebecca, Hedl, Thomas J., Riddell, Winonah R., Watson, Owen, Keating, Sean S., Venturato, Juliana, Chung, Roger S., Atkin, Julie D., Lee, Albert, Shi, Bingyang, Blizzard, Catherine A., Morsch, Marco and Walker, Adam K. (2021). Riluzole does not ameliorate disease caused by cytoplasmic TDP‐43 in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. European Journal of Neuroscience, 54 (6) ejn.15422, 6237-6255. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15422

Riluzole does not ameliorate disease caused by cytoplasmic TDP‐43 in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2021

Journal Article

Mislocalisation of TDP-43 to the cytoplasm causes cortical hyperexcitability and reduced excitatory neurotransmission in the motor cortex

Dyer, Marcus S., Reale, Laura A., Lewis, Katherine E., Walker, Adam K., Dickson, Tracey C., Woodhouse, Adele and Blizzard, Catherine A. (2021). Mislocalisation of TDP-43 to the cytoplasm causes cortical hyperexcitability and reduced excitatory neurotransmission in the motor cortex. Journal of Neurochemistry, 157 (4), 1300-1315. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15214

Mislocalisation of TDP-43 to the cytoplasm causes cortical hyperexcitability and reduced excitatory neurotransmission in the motor cortex

2021

Journal Article

Unbiased label-free quantitative proteomics of cells expressing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) mutations in CCNF reveals activation of the apoptosis pathway: a workflow to screen pathogenic gene mutations

Cheng, Flora, De Luca, Alana, Hogan, Alison L., Rayner, Stephanie L., Davidson, Jennilee M., Watchon, Maxinne, Stevens, Claire H., Muñoz, Sonia Sanz, Ooi, Lezanne, Yerbury, Justin J., Don, Emily K., Fifita, Jennifer A., Villalva, Maria D., Suddull, Hannah, Chapman, Tyler R., Hedl, Thomas J., Walker, Adam K., Yang, Shu, Morsch, Marco, Shi, Bingyang, Blair, Ian P., Laird, Angela S., Chung, Roger S. and Lee, Albert (2021). Unbiased label-free quantitative proteomics of cells expressing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) mutations in CCNF reveals activation of the apoptosis pathway: a workflow to screen pathogenic gene mutations. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 14 627740, 1-18. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.627740

Unbiased label-free quantitative proteomics of cells expressing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) mutations in CCNF reveals activation of the apoptosis pathway: a workflow to screen pathogenic gene mutations

2020

Journal Article

Impaired NHEJ repair in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is associated with TDP-43 mutations

Konopka, Anna, Whelan, Donna R., Jamali, Md Shafi, Perri, Emma, Shahheydari, Hamideh, Toth, Reka P., Parakh, Sonam, Robinson, Tina, Cheong, Alison, Mehta, Prachi, Vidal, Marta, Ragagnin, Audrey M G, Khizhnyak, Ivan, Jagaraj, Cyril J., Galper, Jasmin, Grima, Natalie, Deva, Anand, Shadfar, Sina, Nicholson, Garth A., Yang, Shu, Cutts, Suzanne M., Horejsi, Zuzana, Bell, Toby D M, Walker, Adam K., Blair, Ian P. and Atkin, Julie D. (2020). Impaired NHEJ repair in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is associated with TDP-43 mutations. Molecular neurodegeneration, 15 (1) 51, 51. doi: 10.1186/s13024-020-00386-4

Impaired NHEJ repair in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is associated with TDP-43 mutations

2020

Journal Article

Neurodegenerative disease-associated protein aggregates are poor inducers of the heat shock response in neuronal cells

Gil, R. San, Cox, D., McAlary, L., Berg, T., Walker, A. K., Yerbury, J. J., Ooi, L. and Ecroyd, H. (2020). Neurodegenerative disease-associated protein aggregates are poor inducers of the heat shock response in neuronal cells. Journal of Cell Science, 133 (15), 1-15. doi: 10.1242/jcs.243709

Neurodegenerative disease-associated protein aggregates are poor inducers of the heat shock response in neuronal cells

2020

Journal Article

Workflow for rapidly extracting biological insights from complex, multicondition proteomics experiments with WGCNA and PloGO2

Wu, Jemma X., Pascovici, Dana, Wu, Yunqi, Walker, Adam K. and Mirzaei, Mehdi (2020). Workflow for rapidly extracting biological insights from complex, multicondition proteomics experiments with WGCNA and PloGO2. Journal of Proteome Research, 19 (7), 2898-2906. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00198

Workflow for rapidly extracting biological insights from complex, multicondition proteomics experiments with WGCNA and PloGO2

2020

Journal Article

Correction: The cysteine (Cys) residues Cys-6 and Cys-111 in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) A4V are required for induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Perri, Emma R., Parakh, Sonam, Vidal, Marta, Mehta, Prachi, Ma, Yi, Walker, Adam K. and Atkin, Julie D. (2020). Correction: The cysteine (Cys) residues Cys-6 and Cys-111 in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) A4V are required for induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, 70 (9), 1369-1369. doi: 10.1007/s12031-020-01617-5

Correction: The cysteine (Cys) residues Cys-6 and Cys-111 in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) A4V are required for induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2020

Journal Article

The cysteine (Cys) residues Cys-6 and Cys-111 in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) A4V are required for induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Perri, Emma R., Parakh, Sonam, Vidal, Marta, Mehta, Prachi, Ma, Yi, Walker, Adam K. and Atkin, Julie D. (2020). The cysteine (Cys) residues Cys-6 and Cys-111 in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) A4V are required for induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, 70 (9), 1357-1368. doi: 10.1007/s12031-020-01551-6

The cysteine (Cys) residues Cys-6 and Cys-111 in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) A4V are required for induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2019

Journal Article

Proteomics approaches for biomarker and drug target discovery in ALS and FTD

Hedl, Thomas J., San Gil, Rebecca, Cheng, Flora, Rayner, Stephanie L., Davidson, Jennilee M., De Luca, Alana, Villalva, Maria D., Ecroyd, Heath, Walker, Adam K. and Lee, Albert (2019). Proteomics approaches for biomarker and drug target discovery in ALS and FTD. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13 (JUN) 548, 548. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00548

Proteomics approaches for biomarker and drug target discovery in ALS and FTD

2019

Journal Article

Label-free fluorescent poly(amidoamine) dendrimer for traceable and controlled drug delivery

Wang, Guoying, Fu, Libing, Walker, Adam, Chen, Xianfeng, Lovejoy, David B., Hao, Mingcong, Lee, Albert, Chung, Roger, Rizos, Helen, Irvine, Mal, Zheng, Meng, Liu, Xiuhua, Lu, Yiqing and Shi, Bingyang (2019). Label-free fluorescent poly(amidoamine) dendrimer for traceable and controlled drug delivery. Biomacromolecules, 20 (5), 2148-2158. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00494

Label-free fluorescent poly(amidoamine) dendrimer for traceable and controlled drug delivery

2019

Journal Article

The Pathobiology of TDP-43 C-Terminal Fragments in ALS and FTLD

Berning, Britt A. and Walker, Adam K. (2019). The Pathobiology of TDP-43 C-Terminal Fragments in ALS and FTLD. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13 (APR) 335, 335. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00335

The Pathobiology of TDP-43 C-Terminal Fragments in ALS and FTLD

2019

Journal Article

Genetic and immunopathological analysis of CHCHD10 in Australian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia and transgenic TDP-43 mice

McCann, Emily P., Fifita, Jennifer A., Grima, Natalie, Galper, Jasmin, Mehta, Prachi, Freckleton, Sarah E., Zhang, Katharine Y., Henden, Lyndal, Hogan, Alison L., Chan Moi Fat, Sandrine, Wu, Sharlynn S.L., Jagaraj, Cyril J., Berning, Britt A., Williams, Kelly Louise, Twine, Natalie A., Bauer, Denis, Piguet, Olivier, Hodges, John, Kwok, John B.J., Halliday, Glenda M., Kiernan, Matthew C., Atkin, Julie, Rowe, Dominic B., Nicholson, Garth A., Walker, Adam K., Blair, Ian P. and Yang, Shu (2019). Genetic and immunopathological analysis of CHCHD10 in Australian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia and transgenic TDP-43 mice. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 91 (2), 162-2019. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2019-321790

Genetic and immunopathological analysis of CHCHD10 in Australian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia and transgenic TDP-43 mice

2018

Journal Article

Stilbenes from Veratrum maackii Regel protect against ethanol-induced DNA damage in mouse cerebellum and cerebral cortex

Wu, Yantong, Li, Shasha, Liu, Jinjin, Liu, Xiping, Ruan, Weimin, Lu, Jengwei, Liu, Yong, Lawson, Tom, Shimoni, Olga, Lovejoy, David B., Walker, Adam K., Cong, Yue and Shi, Bingyang (2018). Stilbenes from Veratrum maackii Regel protect against ethanol-induced DNA damage in mouse cerebellum and cerebral cortex. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 9 (7), 1616-1624. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00006

Stilbenes from Veratrum maackii Regel protect against ethanol-induced DNA damage in mouse cerebellum and cerebral cortex

2018

Journal Article

ERp57 is protective against mutant SOD1-induced cellular pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Parakh, Sonam, Jagaraj, Cyril J., Vidal, Marta, Ragagnin, Audrey M. G., Perri, Emma R., Konopka, Anna, Toth, Reka P., Galper, Jasmin, Blair, Ian P., Thomas, Colleen J., Walker, Adam K., Yang, Shu, Spencer, Damian M. and Atkin, Julie D. (2018). ERp57 is protective against mutant SOD1-induced cellular pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Human Molecular Genetics, 27 (8), 1311-1331. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddy041

ERp57 is protective against mutant SOD1-induced cellular pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2017

Journal Article

Note in reference to “Mutant FUS induces endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and interacts with protein disulfide-isomerase” [Neurobiol. Aging 33(12) (2012) 2855-2868]

Farg, Manal A., Soo, Kai Y., Walker, Adam K., Pham, Hong, Orian, Jacqueline, Horne, Malcolm K., Warraich, Sadaf T., Williams, Kelly L., Blair, Ian P. and Atkin, Julie D. (2017). Note in reference to “Mutant FUS induces endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and interacts with protein disulfide-isomerase” [Neurobiol. Aging 33(12) (2012) 2855-2868]. Neurobiology of Aging, 60. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.10.001

Note in reference to “Mutant FUS induces endoplasmic reticulum stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and interacts with protein disulfide-isomerase” [Neurobiol. Aging 33(12) (2012) 2855-2868]

2017

Journal Article

Casein kinase II phosphorylation of cyclin F at serine 621 regulates the Lys48-ubiquitylation E3 ligase activity of the SCF(cyclin F) complex

Lee, Albert, Rayner, Stephanie L., De Luca, Alana, Gwee, Serene S. L., Morsch, Marco, Sundaramoorthy, Vinod, Shahheydari, Hamideh, Ragagnin, Audrey, Shi, Bingyang, Yang, Shu, Williams, Kelly L., Don, Emily K., Walker, Adam K., Zhang, Katharine Y., Yerbury, Justin J., Cole, Nicholas J., Atkin, Julie D., Blair, Ian P., Molloy, Mark P. and Chung, Roger S. (2017). Casein kinase II phosphorylation of cyclin F at serine 621 regulates the Lys48-ubiquitylation E3 ligase activity of the SCF(cyclin F) complex. Open Biology, 7 (10) 170058, 170058. doi: 10.1098/rsob.170058

Casein kinase II phosphorylation of cyclin F at serine 621 regulates the Lys48-ubiquitylation E3 ligase activity of the SCF(cyclin F) complex

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    Preclinical development of complement C5a receptor 2 modulators for motor neuron disease
    Cure for MND Foundation - Drug Development Grants
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2026
    Elucidating the role of UNC13A risk variants in sporadic frontotemporal dementia
    Dementia Australia Research Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    Oligodendrocytes and TDP-43 pathology in MND
    Cure for MND Foundation - Discovery Research Grants
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2027
    Australian Preclinical Research ALS (APRALS) Network: a roadmap for effective translation of therapeutics for sporadic MND (MNDRA and FightMND grant administered by University of Melbourne)
    University of Melbourne
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2026
    A Collaborative Multivariable Approach to Prevent Network Dysfunction in ALS (University of Tasmania administered MNDRA grant)
    University of Tasmania
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2026
    Understanding the dynamics of TDP-43 aggregation in FTE using advanced imaging tools
    Dementia Australia Research Foundation
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2024 - 2025
    Upstream Protein Clearance Pathway Activators for MND Treatment
    Cure for MND Foundation - Drug Development Grants
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2025
    Exploring the therapeutic potential of a key chaperone against TDP-43 proteinopathy in MND
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc Innovator Grant
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2025
    Synaptic mechanisms of non-motor dysfunction in MND
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc Innovator Grant
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2024
    Identifying proteins controlling post-translational modification of TDP-43
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc Innovator Grant
    Open grant
  • 2023
    High-resolution imaging of protein clumps in frontotemporal dementia and motor neuron disease
    Brain Foundation Research Grant
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    Clearing TDP-43 pathology for MND therapy
    Cure for MND Foundation - Bill Guest Mid-Career Fellowship
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    New viral-mediated TDP-43 mouse models of MND
    Cure for MND Foundation - Impact Grants
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2024
    The Glymphatic System: Novel Biomarker of Disease Severity and Therapeutic Target (FightMND Impact Grant administered by Monash University)
    Monash University
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    Exploiting the neuroprotective effects of the gut microbiome for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia-3 and related neurodegenerative diseases (NHMRC Ideas Grant administered by Macquarie Uni).
    Macquarie University
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    NIBR Global Scholars Program Scholars Agreement
    UniQuest Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Defining the involvement of ubiquilin-2 in MND
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
    Open grant
  • 2021
    Is the brain's waste clearance system impaired in Motor Neurone Disease (Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation Grant led by Monash University)
    Monash University
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2024
    Preclinical development of centrally active complement C3a receptor modulators as disease-modifying drugs for motor neuron disease
    Cure for MND Foundation - Drug Development Grants
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Development of a TDP43-targeting gene therapy (FightMND Drug Development Grant administered by Macquarie University)
    Macquarie University
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2021
    New mouse models of TDP-43 pathology
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2025
    From the nucleus to the powerhouse: investigating how TDP-43-mitochondrial interactions wreak havoc in MND
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
    Open grant
  • 2020
    Using viruses to target TDP-43 pathology for pre-clinical studies of neurodegenerative disease
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2020
    Genome-wide CRISPR screens to reveal regulators of TDP-43 aggregation and toxicity in motor neuron disease and frontotemporal dementia
    Brain Foundation Research Gift
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2022
    Rapid flow cytometry screen for identifying novel ALS drug leads (CDMRP Grant administered by University of Wollongong)
    University of Wollongong
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    Targeting the nucleo-cytoplasmic transport machinery in sporadic and familial ALS (MNDRIA Grant led by Macquarie University)
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
    Open grant
  • 2019
    Advanced Brightfield and Fluorescent High Speed and Throughput Slide Scanner for biological, medical, materials science, and agricultural applications
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2020
    Pre-Clinical evaluation of novel therapies for clearance of TDP-43 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (NFMRI grant administered by Macquarie University)
    Macquarie University
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2022
    Neurodegenerative disease pathology, mechanisms, models and treatments
    NHMRC Career Development Fellowship
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2020
    Understanding the early disease mechanisms of motor neuron disease and frontotemporal dementia
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2021
    Calpeptin, and related candidates, for the treatment of Machado Joseph Disease (NHMRC Project Grant led by Macquarie University)
    Macquarie University
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Professor Adam Walker is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Professor Adam Walker directly for media enquiries about:

  • Frontotemporal dementia
  • Motor Neuron Disease
  • Neurodegenerative disease mechanisms
  • Pre-clinical disease research
  • TDP-43

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communications@uq.edu.au