Mitophagy is an important cellular pathway that keeps mitochondria healthy by selectively degrading those that become damaged. Mitophagy dysfunction is linked to neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease, and therefore the goal of this project is to understand how mitophagy works in neurons. Students will first build a foundation of skills using our established cell models of mitophagy. This will be followed with using stem cell derived neurons and midbrain organoids differentiated from healthy controls, Parkinson’s disease patients, or gene edited lines deficient in mitophagy, to uncover the key mechanisms of neuronal mitophagy and how it can go wrong in disease.
Students will develop fundamental skills in cell culture, viral transductions, genome engineering (CRISPR/Cas9), molecular biology, and biochemistry. In addition, students will learn how to visualise mitophagy in cells and neurons using advanced imaging techniques. Students will therefore gain experience in a range of scientific approaches, providing them with a strong scientific foundation to build their research career. This work is ideally suited for someone with a third year undergraduate background in biochemistry.