Diane Berengere Ré, PhD
- Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
On the web
Overview
Dr. Ré is a neuroscientist focused on investigating environmental risk factors and mechanisms for neurodegenerative diseases. The overarching goal of Dr. Ré's research is to make an impact in therapy and prevention of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases through innovative and rigorously designed mechanistic and biomarker studies. Since she started her faculty appointment, she has developed a novel line of animal- and human model-based experimental research linking environmental exposures and in particular metals and pesticides to the late-onset paralytic disorder ALS. Dr. Ré's work is at the forefront of complex and poorly understood gene-environment (GxE) interactions in the etiology of ALS and, more recently, Parkinson's disease. Overall, her independent research to date has primarily focused on five complementary topics: 1) Novel therapeutic candidates for ALS; 2) Novel biomarkers of environmental exposure and disease progression in ALS; 3) Genuine GxE interactions in ALS; 4) Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neuromuscular aging; and 5) Neurotoxic risks from exposure to electronic cigarette aerosol. Dr. Ré's research work is supported by funding from notably the NIEHS, NIA, CDC/ATSDR, and DOD.
Since 2018, Dr. Ré is the Director of the "Fundamentals of Toxicology for Health-Related Disciplines" course that aims at introducing the basic concepts of toxicology to students from multiple health-related fields (epidemiologists, policy makers, etc.) who are interested in public health and the environmental basis of human disease. She is also the Director of a 2-day professional development workshop the "PI Crash Course: Leadership and Management Skills for Future or New Lab Leaders" as part of her efforts to cultivate the next generation of scientific leaders.
Office Location: 630 West 168th Street, VP&S Room 16-421B
Academic Appointments
- Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Administrative Titles
- Member of the Columbia Center for Environmental Health and Justice in Northern Manhattan
- Member of the Motor Neuron Center
Languages
- English
- French
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- BS, 1998 University of Aix-Marseille
- MS, 2000 University of Aix-Marseille
- PhD, 2004 University of Aix-Marseille
Research
Unraveling the environmental triggers and the gene-environment interactions leading to adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases.
Research Interests
- Aging
- Chronic disease
- Environmental Health
- Genetics
- Substance Use
Selected Publications
Butt TH, Tobiume M, Re DB, Kariya S. Physical Exercise Counteracts Aging-Associated White Matter Demyelination Causing Cognitive Decline. Aging Dis. 2024 Feb 17;. doi: 10.14336/AD.2024.0216. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 38377028.
Comfort N., Gade M., Strait M.D., Merwin S.J., Antoniou D., Parodi C., Marcinczyk L., Jean-Francois L., Bloomquist T.R., Memou A., Rideout H.J., Corti S., Kariya S., Re D.B. Longitudinal transcriptomic analysis of mouse sciatic nerve reveals pathways associated with age-related muscle pathology. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle.2023. Mar 10. doi: 10.1002/jcsm.13204. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36905126.
Re DB, Rideout HJ. Why the Gut Microbiome Must Be Considered When Evaluating the Impact of Pesticides on Parkinson's Disease Risk. J Parkinsons Dis. 2023;13(7):1077-1078. doi: 10.3233/JPD-239004. PubMed PMID: 37927278; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10657661.
Nguyen K.N., Saxena R., Re D.B., Yan B.. Rapid LC-MS/MS Quantification of Organophosphate Non-specific Metabolites in Hair Using Alkaline Extraction Approach. Journal of Chromatography B.. 2023 Feb 15;1217:123619. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2023.123619. Epub 2023 Feb 2. PMID: 36774786.
Re DB, Yan B, Calderón-Garcidueñas L, Andrew AS, Tischbein M, Elijah W. Stommel. A Perspective on Persistent Toxicants in Veterans and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Identifying Exposures Determining Higher ALS Risk. J Neurol. 2022 May;269(5):2359-2377. doi: 10.1007/s00415-021-10928-5. Epub 2022 Jan 1. PMID: 34973105
Re DB, Hilpert, M, Saglimbeni B, Strait M, Ilievski, V, Coady, M, Talayero M, Wilmsen K, Chesnais H, Balac O, Glabonjat R.A, Slavkovich, V, Yan B, Graziano J, Navas-Acien, A, Kleiman, N.J. Exposure to e-cigarette aerosol over two months induces accumulation of neurotoxic metals and alteration of essential metals in mouse brain. Environ Res. 2021. Jul 8; 202:111557. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111557. PMID: 34245728.
Gade M, Comfort N, Re DB. Sex-Specific Neurotoxic Effects of Heavy Metal Pollutants: Epidemiological, Experimental Evidence and Candidate Mechanisms. Environ Res. 2021 Jul 2; 201:111558. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111558. PMID: 34224706.
Comfort N and Re DB. Sex-specific Neurotoxic Effects of Organophosphate Pesticides Across the Life Course. Curr Environ Health Rep. (2017) Dec;4(4):392-404. doi: 10.1007/s40572-017-0171-y. PMID: 29063415; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5677564.
Rideout HJ, Re DB. LRRK2 and the "LRRKtosome" at the Crossroads of Programmed Cell Death: Clues from RIP Kinase Relatives. Adv Neurobiol. (2017);14:193-208. doi: 10.1007/978- 3-319-49969-7_10. PubMed PMID: 28353285.
Merwin SJ, Obis T, Nunez Y, Re DB. Organophosphate neurotoxicity to the voluntary motor system on the trail of environment-caused amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: the known, the misknown, and the unknown. Arch Toxicol. (2017) Jan 9. doi: 10.1007/s00204-016-1926-1. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28070599.
See a complete list of publications on NIH.
Global Health Activities
CROSS-NEUROD 778003 European Program , Italy and Greece: Dr. Re is the US coordinator of the CROSS-NEUROD program that consolidates research partnerships through staff exchanges and networking activities between 3 European research organizations, two of them from Italy, one from Greece and one partner, USA. The project is based on a 4-year joint research exchange program for short periods. The research goals of the program are: 1) the development of integrative in vitro models of 3D disease (mini-brains, mini-spinal cords and motor units) to elucidate the cellular and molecular pathways common to neurodegenerative diseases; 2) the validation in animal models of the identified therapeutic targets.