RESEARCH INTERESTS

The accumulation of toxic protein aggregates is a defining feature of many neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. My research focuses on the cellular protein homeostasis mechanisms that normally suppress pathological aggregation, how these safeguards become compromised in disease, and how they can be therapeutically restored or enhanced. To address these questions, I integrate genetic and biochemical approaches across multiple model systems including yeast, stem cell-derived neurons, and in vitro reconstitution assays to uncover both fundamental mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities in neurodegeneration.

EDUCATION

• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania
• Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Yale University
• B.S., Biochemistry, Manhattan University

AWARDS & HONORS

• NIH Pathway to Independence Award K99/R00
• NIH NRSA F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship
• ALS Association Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Yale University John Spangler Nicholas Prize for Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Award

PUBLICATIONS

1. Barbieri, E.M., M. Linsenmeier, K.R. Whiteman, Y. Cheng, S. Braganza, K.E. Copley, P. Miranda-Castrodad, B. Lewis, K. Villafa.e, D.A. Amado, B.L. Davidson, and J. Shorter. (2025). Scouring the human Hsp70 network uncovers diverse chaperone safeguards buffering TDP-43 toxicity. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2025.05.10.653282
2. Aikio, M., H.J. Wobst, H.M. Odeh, B.L. Lee, B. Class, T.A. Ollerhead, K.L. Mack, A.F. Ford, E.M. Barbieri, R.R. Cupo, L.E. Drake, N. Castello, A. Baral, J. Dunlop, A.D. Gitler, A. Javaherian, S. Finkbeiner, D.G. Brown, S.J. Moss, N.J. Brandon, and J. Shorter. (2025). Opposing roles of p38α-mediated phosphorylation and arginine methylation in driving TDP-43 proteinopathy. Cell Rep. 44(1):115205.3
3. Sweeney, K.M., S. Chantarawong, E.M. Barbieri, G. Cajka, M. Liu, L. Spruce, H. Fazelinia, B. Portz, K. Copley, T. Lapidot, L. Duhamel, P. Greenwald, N. Saida, R. Shalgi, J. Shorter, and O. Shalem. (2024). CRISPR screen for protein inclusion formation uncovers a role for SRRD in the regulation of intermediate filament dynamics and aggresome assembly. PLoS Genet. 20(2):e1011138.
4. Mack, K.L.*, H. Kim*, E.M. Barbieri, J. Lin, S. Braganza, M.E. Jackrel, J.E. DeNizio, X. Yan, E. Chuang, A. Tariq, R.R. Cupo, L.M. Castellano, K.A. Caldwell, G.A. Caldwell, and J. Shorter. (2023). Tuning Hsp104 specificity to selectively detoxify α-synuclein. Mol. Cell. 83(18):3314-3332.e9.
5. Francois-Moutal, L., D.D. Scott, A.J. Ambrose, C.J. Zerio, M. Rodriguez-Sanchez, K. Dissanayake, D.G. May, J.M. Carlson, E. Barbieri, A. Moutal, K.J. Roux, J. Shorter, R. Khanna, S.J. Barmada, L. McGurk, and M.Khanna. (2022). Heat shock protein Grp78/BiP/HspA5 binds directly to TDP-43 and mitigates toxicity associated with neurodegenerative disease pathology. Sci. Rep. 12(1):8140.
6. Peinado, J.R., K. Chaplot, T.S. Jarvela, E. Barbieri, J. Shorter, and I. Lindberg. (2022). Sequestration of TDP- 43(216-414) aggregates by cytoplasmic expression of the proSAAS chaperone. ACS Chem. Neurosci.13(11):1651-1665.
7. Barbieri, E.M., and J. Shorter. (2019). TDP-43 shapeshifts to encipher FTD severity. Nat. Neurosci. 22(1):3-5.
8. Barbieri, E.M., P. Muir, B.O. Akhuetie-Oni, C.M. Yellman, and F.J. Isaacs. (2017). Precise Editing at DNA Replication Forks Enables Multiplex Genome Engineering in Eukaryotes. Cell. 171(6):1453–1467.
9. Levee, L., C. Calogeroa, E. Barbieri, S. Byrne, C. Donahue, M. Eisenberg, S. Hattenbach, J. Le, J.F. Capitani, J. Roithov., and D. Schr.der. (2012). Formation of argon–boron bonds in the reactions of BFn+/2+ cations with neutral argon. Int. J. Mass Spectrometry. 323-324:2-7.