Joanna Rorbach

Mitochondria are essential organelles in our cells that convert food into energy. This process is important for health and even subtle insufficiency in mitochondrial function can cause pathologies. Therefore, understanding mitochondrial function is highly relevant to a diverse spectrum of diseases with neurological, cardiovascular and metabolic phenotypes, as well as cancer and the aging process. Mitochondria possess their own genome that encodes proteins that are components of the energy-producing machinery called the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS). Mitochondria-encoded proteins are produced by mitochondrial ribosomes inside mitochondria. Defects in this process cause OXPHOS dysfunction, leading to diseases.
The objective of this research is to investigate mitochondrial ribosome function using advanced biophysical and molecular technologies.  In the longer term, a description of this fundamental process will allow for a better understanding of mitochondrial diseases.