BSc (Hons) (Glasgow, 1977); PhD (Glasgow, 1980)
Senior Research Fellow
- About
-
- Email Address
- c.harrington@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 438563
- Office Address
Liberty Building, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill Road, Aberdeen AB25 2ZP United Kingdom
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Biography
Charlie Harrington graduated in Microbiology from Glasgow University where he developed an interest in chemical microbiology and the study of microbial cell walls. He completed his PhD working with Dr Julia Douglas on cell wall synthesis in yeast and followed with a one-year NIH-funded Fellowship with Dr Wilf Arnold in Kansas City, Missouri studying enzymes within the yeast cell envelope. After this, Charlie joined Professor Sir James Baddiley in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge as a Research Fellow, where he spent four years investigating the synthesis of bacterial cell wall polymers. Dr Harrington then spent over two years at Murex Medical Research Ltd., Cambridge, developing diagnostic tests for microbial diseases, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and sexually transmitted diseases. This combined monoclonal antibody technology with his knowledge of the microbial cell surface.
In 1988, he joined Claude Wischik working at the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Working in the Cambridge Brain Bank Laboratory over a period of 10 years. During this time, Wischik, Harrington and colleagues developed an assay for screening agents having the potential to prevent the tau pathology that is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Charlie moved with Professor Wischik, in 1998, to the University of Aberdeen, where he was appointed as a Senior Research Fellow.
The Alzheimer's research was translated to the clinic, through a spin-out company, TauRx Therapeutics, who are conducting phase 3 trials of hydromethylthionine. Dr Harrington is Chief Scientific Officer for TauRx Therapeutics Ltd responsible for the non-clinical activities of the company.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Microbiology1977 - University of Glasgow
- PhD Microbiology1980 - University of Glasgow
Latest Publications
Inhibiting disulphide bonding in truncated tau297-391 results in enhanced self-assembly of tau into seed-competent assemblies
ACS Chemical NeuroscienceContributions to Journals: ArticlesBlood Biomarkers from Research Use to Clinical Practice: What Must Be Done? A Report from the EU/US CTAD Task Force
Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 569-579Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSystematic gait analysis in alpha-synuclein transgenic line 62 mice using the CatWalk
Behavioural Brain Research, vol. 496, 115819Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA key region of Tau that is able to drive assembly and modulate inhibition by Hydromethylthionine
Journal of Molecular Biology, vol. 437, no. 17, 169231Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2025.169231
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstreams/7a09658e-98e2-46e0-b61c-ea4a48f823ab/download
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Proteomic and non-proteomic changes of presynaptic proteins in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease: A meta-analysis 2015-2023
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 107, no. 2, pp. 452-476Contributions to Journals: Articles
- Research
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Research Overview
Dr Harrington has research interests in the neurodegenerative diseases and, in particular, Alzheimer’s disease. His main focus has been on the biology of tau protein in aging and in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr Harrington’s research is aimed at diseases that are characterised by protein aggregation and methods by which these processes might be prevented.
- Publications
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Page 10 of 11 Results 91 to 100 of 107
Materials and methods relating to protein aggregation in neurodegenerative disease: WO2002059150
Patents: PatentsLoss of synaptic but not cytoskeletal proteins in the cerebellum of chronic schizophrenics
Neuroscience Letters, vol. 317, no. 3, pp. 161-165Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(01)02458-2
Inhibition of tau-tau-association
Patents: PatentsMaterials and methods relating to protein aggregation in neurodegenerative disease: WO2002055720
Patents: PatentsNeurofibrillary labels
Patents: PatentsAccumulation of C-terminally truncated tau protein associated with vulnerability of the perforant pathway in early stages of neurofibrillary pathology in Alzheimer’s disease
Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy, vol. 22, no. 1-2, pp. 65-77Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-0618(01)00096-5
Loss of synaptic, but not cytoskeletal proteins in the cerebellum of people with chronic schizophrenia
Schizophrenia Research, vol. 49, no. Suppl. 1, pp. 55Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-9964(01)00159-1
The molecular basis of tau protein pathology in Alzheimer's Disease and related neurodegenerative dementias
Neurobiology of Alzheimer’s Disease. Dawbarn, D., Allen, S. (eds.). 2 edition. Oxford University PressChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersDementia with Lewy bodies
The Encyclopedia of Aging. A Comprehensive Resource in Gerontology and Geriatrics, 3rd Edition. G.L. Maddox, et al., Editors. Springer Publishing Company, New York, pp. 280-282, 2 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersPrion diseases
The Encyclopedia of Aging: A Comprehensive Resource in Gerontology and Geriatrics. Maddox, G. (ed.). 3 edition. Springer, pp. 817-819, 3 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters