It is clear that protein homeostasis is closely coupled to many biological processes ranging from cell-specific molecular functions to the overall organismal ageing. In addition, only correctly folded proteins have the ability to remain soluble in crowded biological environments and to interact selectively with their natural partners. It is not surprising, therefore, that the failure of protein homeostasis mechanisms is the origin of a wide variety of pathological conditions including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
The main interest of our lab is the understanding of molecular mechanisms associated with the failure of protein quality control mechanisms in neurodegenerative disease and the characteristics of protein aggregates leading to the onset and progression of protein misfolding disease. To tackle these questions we take advantage of the wide range of genetic, molecular and genomic techniques available in Drosophila melanogaster.
Jahn Lab 