Towards a high-definition view of cytoskeleton remodelling by the bacterial pathogen Salmonella

Professor Koronakis is fascinated with molecular events at biological cell membranes, encompassing the structure and function of bacterial multidrug efflux pumps, and the action of bacterial effectors that seize control of host cells to force pathogen invasion. He aims to study mammalian cell-membrane signalling pathways that are vital to the control of cytoskeleton remodelling in health and infectious disease. He will combine his innovative experimental approach to study membrane signalling platforms in vitro, with his work showing how effectors of the pathogen Salmonella subvert regulatory control of the host cell cytoskeleton. This will focus on the WAVE regulatory complex, one of the cell’s key regulators of actin assembly and cell shape, and how it is controlled by cooperating Arf and Rac GTPases. This fusion of biochemistry and cell biology promises a greater understanding of key signalling processes in our cells, and new insights into how bacteria establish infection.