Sharon Tooze
Secretory Pathways Laboratory
See Almut Schulze research profile
The research in the Secretory Pathways laboratory is directed towards understanding the protein and lipid based molecular machinery involved making and maintaining intracellular compartments in mammalian cells. Mutations in, or disruption of, this machinery is one of the major causes of human disease. In particular, recent literature suggests that disruption of the cell¿s ability to respond to nutrient depletion by formation of autophagsomes during autophagy may contribute to the formation of cancer. Currently, in the lab there are two main areas of research:
- The biogenesis of secretory granules in neuroendocrine cells.
Previous work in the lab has shown that membrane remodelling and vesicular fusion are key events in the correct formation and remodelling of the secretory. Recent work has provided a direct demonstration that these steps are required for full biological activity within the secretory granule. In addition, we are working towards an understanding or the role of the SNARE syntaxin 6 in secretory granule maturation.
- The biogenesis of autophagosomes after nutrient depletion.
Several new avenues of research are now well established. These include experiments that are directed towards the understanding of the function of the transmembrane protein Atg9, and kinases, such as hVPS34. In addition, we are establishing methods to study autophagy in vivo and in vitro, including developing high throughput screens using siRNA libraries to look for novel proteins.
Post-doctoral projects are available in both areas. Overlapping approaches and techniques are used in the two areas, and include protein biochemistry, purification and expression, molecular biology, high throughput screens, in vitro reconstitution assays, light and electron microscopy, and live cell imaging.
Please contact Sharon Tooze (sharon.tooze@cancer.org.uk) for additional details of the available projects.
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