Mike Henderson
mxhend.bsky.social
Mike Henderson
@mxhend.bsky.social
Associate Professor
Van Andel Institute
Focused on neurodegeneration, synuclein, tau
Great job, Noah!
Congratulations to MD/PhD student Noah Lubben on passing his comprehensive exam!
November 14, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Mike Henderson
A study by @mxhend.bsky.social and collaborators found that an unstructured layer surrounding the Alzheimer’s-related protein tau plays a critical role in recruiting other proteins to misfold in Alzheimer’s progression. The findings were published in @natcomms.nature.com. www.vai.org/article/not-...
Not just a harmless accessory, tau’s ‘fuzzy coat’ contributes to Alzheimer’s progression – Van Andel Institute
Read about Not just a harmless accessory, tau’s ‘fuzzy coat’ contributes to Alzheimer’s progression on Van Andel Institute – Stay updated on the latest research and groundbreaking discoveries in scien...
www.vai.org
October 28, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Another graduate student defended! Congratulations, Dr. Goralski!
Congratulations to Dr. Goralski on a fantastic dissertation defense! The whole lab showed up in Tommy's usual attire to celebrate with him! @vai.org #PhD
September 15, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Excited to celebrate the graduation of our first PhD student, Dr. Alysa Kasen!!!
August 20, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by Mike Henderson
Excellent opportunity for a postdoc to join @sjorsscheres.bsky.social in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division to work on #cryoEM structure determination of amyloid filaments in a lively, multi-disciplinary group.
Read more: www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Closes 03 AUG
#PostdocJobs #ScienceJobs
July 7, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Excited to have several new lab members join us this year!
It’s been a busy year so far in the Henderson lab! We have several new lab members to welcome—Anika and Noah as new graduate students, Aastha as a new postdoc, Sydney as a new technician, and Giang, Kelsey, and @abbeyzuzelski.bsky.social who are joining us as summer fellows! The lab is bustling!
June 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Mike Henderson
We are thrilled to announce that renowned physician-scientist J. Timothy Greenamyre, M.D., Ph.D., of University of Pittsburgh, will be the recipient of the 2025 Jay Van Andel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Parkinson’s Disease Research!
Van Andel Institute to recognize Dr. J. Timothy Greenamyre with 2025 Jay Van Andel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Parkinson’s Disease Research – Van Andel Institute
Read about Van Andel Institute to recognize Dr. J. Timothy Greenamyre with 2025 Jay Van Andel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Parkinson’s Disease Research on Van Andel Institute – Stay updated on...
www.vai.org
April 14, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Congratulations to grad student Ben for passing his qualifying exam! Now he gets to do all the exciting research he has proposed!
March 25, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Great collaboration with @sjorsscheres.bsky.social led by graduate student @alysa-kasen.bsky.social! It turns out core filament structure and fuzzy coat PTMs contribute to tau seeding.
Cool stuff from our collaboration with @mxhend.bsky.social: the fold of tau filaments matters for seeding in primary cultures & in live mice: the AD fold is more seeding efficient than non-AD folds! But that's not all: phosphorylation of the fuzzy coat matters too. 🤩

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Seed structure and phosphorylation in the fuzzy coat impact tau seeding competency
Tau is a pathogenic protein in Alzheimer's (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The misfolding of tau into beta-sheet rich elongated filaments is thought to be a key event in disease pathogenesi...
www.biorxiv.org
March 13, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Another first place poster prize for graduate student @alysa-kasen.bsky.social for her work on tau pathology seeding! She is finishing up this summer and looking for a postdoc if anyone needs an excellent scientist!
February 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Mike Henderson
2024 has been a year of growth and impact for VAI. Check out our research year in review! ⬇️
VAI Research: A year in review – Van Andel Institute
Read about VAI Research: A year in review on Van Andel Institute – Stay updated on the latest research and groundbreaking discoveries in science and health.
www.vai.org
December 30, 2024 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Mike Henderson
Pharmaceutical company Roche announce that their Phase IIb PADOVA study of the alpha synuclein targeting antibody Prasinezumab just missed its primary endpoint (p=0.0657), but their data suggests possible clinical benefit in early-stage #Parkinsons
www.roche.com/media/releas...
December 19, 2024 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Mike Henderson
Henderson Lab winter party 2024! Happy holidays everyone!
December 17, 2024 at 6:05 PM