Daniel Mordes (MD, PhD)

Dr. Mordes is an Assistant Professor and board-certified neuropathologist at UCSF. His work connects C9 dipeptide repeat toxicity to changes in gene expression through SRSF7 and links TBK1 (another ALS-associated protein) to the C9ORF72 protein complex. His lab is building a “wiring diagram” of C9 disease, mapping the molecular nodes that are disrupted and how they converge on TDP-43 dysfunction. With collaborators in Boston, he has recently demonstrated a shared molecular pathology between ALS and advanced forms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in individuals with a history of playing contact sports. Together, these insights define how cellular systems fail in neurodegenerative disease and help turn “we know the gene” into actionable therapeutic targets.