Cells maintain a healthy pool of mitochondria by degrading those that are damaged. This occurs through a cellular self-eating process termed mitophagy. Defects in mitophagy have been linked to human diseases, ranging from neurodegeneration (e.g. Parkinson’s disease), to cardiovascular disease.
This project will focus on understanding the mechanistic basis behind how mitophagy factors, including ubiquitin ligases, kinases, and membrane remodelling factors, contribute to mitophagy. Are they required for the formation of cellular garbage bags (termed autophagosomes) that deliver damaged mitochondria to lysosomes? Or are they required for the recognition of damaged mitochondria, so that cells can know which mitochondria to degrade? This project will explore these questions while providing experience with a variety of biochemical and cell biological techniques, including confocal microscopy, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, cell culture, western blotting, retrovirus transduction, molecular biology and mass spectrometry. These techniques enable students to gain experience in a range of scientific approaches and establish a strong scientific foundation to build on. This work is ideally suited for someone with a third year undergraduate background in biochemistry.
