Profile

For my PhD, I research how cells in our bodies talk to each other through what are known as ‘signalling pathways’. A signalling pathway is a series of chemical reactions in which a group of molecules in a cell work together to control a cell function, such as cell division or cell death. Cells can receive, process and transmit chemical signals. The signalling pathway I am particularly interested in is called Hedgehog signalling (like the cartoon Sonic Hedgehog!) and how cells process signals in this pathway. When cells miscommunicate, diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s can happen. I work with three proteins that assemble together and form a complex. Rare birth defects result from genetic mutations in complex components, which might inhibit its function and ability to signal. I want to understand how the complex controls Hedgehog signalling in healthy and diseased patients. I will use biochemical and structural analyses, including specialised electron microscopy techniques, to examine: the architecture of the protein complex and how mutations lead to disease. This will help us develop medicines to combat birth defects and cancers in the future!