Current projects and open topics
Our projects are organised around vesicle identity transitions and macropinocytosis in disease contexts. We welcome inquiries from prospective MSc/PhD students and postdocs; projects can be tuned toward imaging, genome editing/screening, or quantitative analysis depending on your interests.
Project area 1: Macropinosome formation and maturation
We dissect the steps from membrane ruffling to vesicle closure and early maturation, focusing on how actin dynamics and phosphoinositide signalling coordinate productive macropinosome formation.
Project area 2: Establishing endocytic identity on newly formed vesicles
We study how macropinosomes shed plasma membrane identity and integrate into the endocytic pathway. A key goal is to define the lipid and Rab-driven transitions that make this switch robust and fail-safe.
Project area 3: Macropinocytosis as a nutrient supply route in KRAS-driven cancer
We investigate how cancer cells upregulate macropinocytosis under nutrient limitation and identify vulnerabilities that could be targeted to disrupt nutrient acquisition.
Project area 4: Macropinocytosis in invasion and metastasis
We examine how macropinocytosis interfaces with migration programs, including how uptake-related trafficking contributes to invasive behaviour and metastatic competence.
Project area 5: Subversion of endocytic uptake by pathogens
Using VLP uptake systems combined with imaging and CRISPR-based approaches, we identify host proteins required for pathogen-like entry and follow the formation of intracellular niches.
For applicants: please include a short CV and a brief paragraph on which project area(s) you’re interested in and what you want to learn (imaging, screening, quantitative analysis, or mechanistic cell biology).