Viktor Korolchuk
Relieving the bottleneck in lysosomal storage diseases
Each cell in our body constantly digests its unwanted or damaged components via the autophagosome-lysosome pathway. When lysosomal function is perturbed, for example in monogenic lysosomal storage disorders, in common familial and sporadic neurodegenerative diseases or as a part of normal ageing process, this leads to the back log in the pathway, accumulation of cellular garbage and eventually cell death. This talk will describe our journey so far, from the identification that autophagy deficit contributes to lysosomal storage Neimann-Pick disease, through the design and validation of a reporter system, to the high throughput screening and identification of FDA approved drugs that can relieve the block in autophagy. Both technical and organisational challenges in coordinating this collaborative drug discovery programme will be discussed.
Biography
Scientific Background
- Reader, Newcastle University Institute for Ageing, Newcastle University, UK, since 2011
- Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. David Rubinsztein, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Cambridge University, UK, 2006-2011
- Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Cahir O’Kane, Department of Genetics, Cambridge University, UK, 2003-2006
- PhD in Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Kiev, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, 2000
- Research interests: autophagy and its regulation by mTOR signalling in the context of cellular and organismal ageing; role of autophagy in the maintenance of protein, DNA and organelle homeostasis; autophagy as a mechanism of oxidative stress response
