Understanding how membrane-less organelles form with optogenetic tools
- Research Opportunity
- PhD students, Masters by Research, Honours students
- Department / Centre
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Location
- Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute
| Primary Supervisor | Number | Webpage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A/Prof Danny Hatters | dhatters@unimelb.edu.au | 83442530 | Personal web page |
| Co-supervisor | Number | Webpage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Dezerae Cox |
Summary The project will involve designing and cloning new constructs, testing their expression in mammalian cells and designing mutations into them.
Project Details
Recent research has identified a completely novel phase-separation strategy cells use to organize proteins and nucleic acids together into protein liquid droplet compartments that are distinct to the those traditionally bound by membranes (such as the ER). The fundamental details of these protein liquid droplets are formed is not well understood but defects in how they form appear to be central to neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. In this project, a new optogenetic toolkit will be used to control how protein liquid droplets form in mammalian cells using light. The project test whether several candidate proteins form liquid droplets and design mutations to test how the droplet formation is regulated. The project will involve designing and cloning new constructs, testing their expression in mammalian cells and designing mutations into them.
Faculty Research Themes
School Research Themes
Biomedical Neuroscience, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
Research Opportunities
PhD students, Masters by Research, Honours students
Students who are interested in joining this project will need to consider their elegibility as well as other requirements before contacting the supervisor of this research
Key Contact
For further information about this research, please contact a supervisor.
Department / Centre
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research Group / Unit / Centre
Research Node
Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology InstituteMDHS Research library
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