Dr. Roychowdhury is interested in studying the signaling mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Neurodegeneration is a progressive loss or dysfunction of neurons that occurs in many neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia. Cytoskeletal disruption in neurons and aggregation of proteins associated with them are the hallmarks of neurodegeneration. However, the cause of this disorder is largely unknown, and no effective drugs are available to treat the disease processes. Thus, there is an urgent need to understand both the mechanisms that trigger this disease and the ways in which it advances. Dr. Roychowdhury is especially focusing on the role of G protein-mediated signaling in modulating microtubules and actin cytoskeleton in the early stage of neurodegeneration. Neurogenerative disorder poses a greater risk in the El Paso-Juarez border region (with 82% Hispanic demographic) because the fastest-growing population among those aged sixty-five and over is Hispanic and aging is the most consistent risk factor for developing a neurodegenerative disorder. The research that Dr. Roychowdhury and her colleagues are conducting will provide better understanding of pathways that lead to neurodegeneration, and it is hoped that it will identify new target(s) for developing drugs against neurodegenerative disorders.