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Short Biography
Professor Agnieszka Chacińska was appointed head of Laboratory of Mitochondrial Biogenesis in 2009. The laboratory was established in the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and currently operating in IMol PAS. The group’s research explores novel and exciting links between protein transport mechanisms and mitochondrial protein homeostasis. They postulate the presence of unique mechanisms involved in protein biogenesis that involve crosstalk between the cytosol and mitochondrial compartments, with the overarching goal to better understand the complex and dynamic processes involved in the formation of functional organelles, as well as the maintenance of cellular protein homeostasis and its failures, which result in pathology.
Agnieszka Chacińska obtained her PhD in biochemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, which was followed by a postdoctoral position at the University of Freiburg in Germany. She was awarded the title of Professor in 2014.
AMBER postdoctoral fellowship PRoject (fifth call)
Structural mechanisms of protein transport into mitochondria
In 2017, our team started with the ambitious ReMedy project “Regenerative Mechanisms for Health”, carried on within the International Research Agendas program of the Foundation for Polish Science. In 2020, we became a cornerstone for the newly constituted Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, created in partnership with the University Medical Centre Göttingen, Germany. The final and important step was a strategic agreement between PAS and the University of Warsaw concerning the joint project of setting up… https://imol.institute/about-us/institute/
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT:
Mitochondria are important biochemical and metabolic hubs of the cell. To perform their function, mitochondria need more than a thousand proteins. Nearly all of them are synthesised in the cytosol and must be imported into a proper destination inside these organelles. Thus, understanding the mechanisms and accuracy of protein transport is critical, as well as identifying the molecular basis of multiple pathologies derived from mitochondrial malfunction. The project aims to dissect the structural mechanisms of protein transport into and across the inner mitochondrial membrane, governed by the complex protein translocase called TIM23. The progress achieved to date in this area has defined an exciting framework for further studies, leaving, however, many important questions unanswered. The project is planned to accommodate a portfolio of advanced structural biology, biochemical, cell biology and molecular biology methods complementing theoretical prediction approaches. The combination of technologies and expertise will allow us to dissect the key mechanistic determinants and players, as well as their dynamics underlying the protein import pathways of mitochondria. The above project presents a broad topic within which it is possible to distinguish several sub-projects.
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Organisation: IMOL, Laboratory of Mitochondrial Biogenesis
Links
Agnieszka Chacińska's Profile on IMOL's website
The International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines Polish Academy of Sciences