Investigating potential new mechanisms of regulating autophagy

Abstract

Autophagy is a cellular recycling mechanism that can be upregulated in cancer cells to provide energy and nutrient supply and promote cell survival. It has previously been reported that autophagy deficiency can result in tumour growth inhibition and enhanced sensitivity to chemotherapy suggesting that targeting autophagy is an attractive treatment option for cancer patients. To efficiently target autophagy as a treatment strategy, it is necessary to investigate the molecular autophagy pathway and develop novel potent inhibitors. Previous work in the lab, utilising proximity labelling assays and a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen have identified potential novel mechanisms by which autophagy can be regulated. The goals of my PhD project are to develop the necessary tools and characterise these new modulators in order to further our understanding of the regulation of autophagy in cells.