Lisa Frankel

Throughout their lifetime, cells face many types of stress from the environment including pollution, UV radiation, pathogen infection and exposure to various toxins. In the face of stress, our cells must adapt to survive and maintain vital functions. If not properly managed, genetic mistakes accumulate and predispose to disease, including cancer. One mechanism for coping with stress is autophagy. This system is crucial for the removal and recycling of cellular waste in order to maintain cellular and tissue homeostasis. Autophagy is deeply conserved in evolution and enables cellular adaptation and survival in response to stress. Using state-of-the-art methods, my team will investigate completely new aspects of autophagy, including its ability to reprogram our genetic instructions in response to stress. By illuminating this new layer of gene expression control, we will provide fundamental understanding of cancer development and progression, with importance for therapeutic developments.