Project Description: Programmed cell death (PCD) is a highly regulated process, essential for animal development and homeostasis. Autophagy, a fundamental catabolic process induced in response to cellular stress to recycle essential nutrients, can act as a cell death pathway in specific context. While misregulation of autophagy and PCD are well established to contribute to many human disorders, the functions and mechanisms of autophagy-dependent cell death are poorly understood. To discover novel modifiers of autophagy-dependent cell death we have undertaken proteomic analysis and a genetic screen. This identified a number of novel candidates with a putative role in autophagy-dependent cell death. This project aims to investigate the novel modulators of autophagy using genetic analysis with molecular and cellular biological approaches.
Pre-requisite skills: Basic laboratory skills are a must. An understanding of cell and molecular biology is important. Knowledge of Drosophila genetics and developmental biology is desirable.
Supervisors: Dr Donna Denton and Professor Sharad Kumar
Supervisor contact email: donna.denton@unisa.edu.au
