Rate My Professor Lucia Schweitzer

Dr. Lucia Schweitzer serves as the Research Horizons Manager at Genomics Aotearoa, affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago. She completed her Master’s degree in molecular biology at the University of Vienna in 2006, followed by a PhD from the same university in 2010, where her doctoral research focused on RNA localisation in neurons. Upon arriving at the University of Otago shortly after her PhD, Schweitzer initially collaborated with Professor Warren Tate to investigate the role of secreted amyloid precursor protein alpha (sAPPα) in Alzheimer’s disease. She subsequently joined efforts with Professor Wickliffe Abraham and Dr. Stephanie Hughes within the Brain Health Research Centre, exploring adult neurogenesis and the molecular processes underlying memory formation and retrieval. Her expertise includes the use of viral vectors in primary neuronal cultures and in vivo models, notably examining why overexpression of a protein phosphatase 2A inhibitor produces severe phenotypes in Alzheimer’s mouse models.

Schweitzer’s research specializations encompass lysosomal dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (Batten disease), including the functions of CLN5 and CLN6 proteins in synaptic integrity and glial-neuronal interactions. She has contributed to neuroproteomic studies on SARS-CoV-2 infection effects on brain cells, identifying overrepresented neurodegeneration pathways and disrupted metabolic processes, as detailed in the 2023 publication 'Neuroproteomic Analysis after SARS-CoV-2 Infection Reveals Overrepresented Neurodegeneration Pathways and Disrupted Metabolic Pathways' in Biomolecules. Another key contribution appears in the 2021 paper 'Deficiency of the Lysosomal Protein CLN5 Alters Synaptic Protein Levels but Does Not Affect Synaptic Ultrastructure or Synaptic Plasticity in Mouse Neocortex'. In 2017, she received a Lottery Health Research grant of $69,462 for her biochemical research. Schweitzer participated in BHRC and BRNZ-funded COVID-19 brain research projects in 2020 alongside colleagues like Dr. Indranil Basak and Professor Miguel Quiñones-Mateu. Previously, as Research Engagement Manager for Te Niwha (Manaaki Infectious Disease Platform), she facilitated collaborations. Her work has influenced advancements in brain health research, including presentations such as 'A bad influence: Do glia with defective lysosomes harm healthy neurons?' at the 2022 Australia and New Zealand Conference of Brain Research, and chairing sessions at various scientific symposia.