Cooper
We want to understand how cells cope, or fail to cope, with the
stress that can result from the over-production of proteins and
misfolding of proteins within a cellular compartment called the
endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER stress is directly applicable to a
growing number of diseases including diabetes, motor neuron disease and
Parkinson’s disease. Either the cell ‘burns out’, generates an excess
of harmful products, or accumulates unmanageable amounts of unusable
proteins, which ultimately lead to cell death. If we can elucidate how
these stressors induce cell death, we may be able to identify potential
points of intervention to help the cells deal with the extra
demands.
Staff
 Research OfficerDr Kathryn Hill |
 Brian Chan |
News
How yeast is helping us to understand Parkinson's disease
MEDIA RELEASE:
27 Feb 2009
Teams of scientists from Australia and the United States have used yeast and mammalian cells to discover a connection between genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson’s disease. The findings were published online this month in Nature Genetics.
