Maja Petkovic, PhD
Interorganellar communication and neurodegeneration

Summary:
The cellular environment is comprised of millions of proteins and lipids packed into discrete organelles. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that these organelles do not act as autonomous discrete units, but rather as interconnected hubs that engage in extensive communication at sites of membrane contacts to coordinate their function over a lifetime. Such pathways of interorganellar communication are just beginning to be understood as relevant to cellular physiology and pathophysiology. Here, we implicate endoplasmic reticulum localized TMEM16K, as a critical interorganellar regulator of endolysosomal function, providing a framework for understanding how mutations in TMEM16K may cause progressive spinocerebellar ataxia in humans. 

This seminar series provide a forum for postdocs to present their neuroscience-related projects to other postdocs, graduate students, and faculty in the field. Besides exciting science, pizza will be served. Hope to see you there.

Organized by Brad Colquitt, Jacob Jaszczak, and Baouyen Tran.