Co-Mentor: Alexei Karpov, PhD
Chemical Biology & Therapeutics
Basel, Switzerland
Autophagy is a catabolic pathway that relies on a machinery of enzymes and cargo receptors to deliver protein aggregates, lipid droplets, damaged organelles, or pathogens into lysosomes for degradation. Our group is interested in understanding how autophagy can be modulated at the transcriptional and post-translational level to target degenerative and inflammatory diseases. We have established robust cell-based assays and have completed genetic screens for pathway modulators that are currently being validated as starting points for drug discovery. Furthermore, we are deploying chemical biology approaches to engage autophagy for targeted protein degradation.