Lamin b1 as a keystone in senescence and atherosclerosis: An interdisciplinary approach
Dr Gian De Nicola is a structural biologist. He examines the shape and size of biological molecules like proteins, and tries to determine how their shape is related to their function in the body. He has been working in Professor Michael Marber’s lab at King’s College London. Gian has received a prestigious BHF Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellowship grant. He will work across the disciplines of cardiovascular and structural biology, studying atherosclerosis and ageing. Age is one of the biggest risk factors for coronary heart disease and therefore understanding the link is important. When we age, there are many changes that happen at the molecular level. In his fellowship, Gian will study three proteins that are key players in ageing - p38, lamin and Oct-1. The team believe that ageing influences the way these three proteins interact with each other. They now want to understand this interaction in detail, in cells and in tissue. Their research will unravel exactly how these proteins interact so they can design chemicals that would be able to interfere with this process. Individually, all three proteins are known to play a crucial role in ageing, while both p38 and Oct-1 are also involved in atherosclerosis. The research team believe a protein called Lmnb1 also plays a key part, linking ageing and atherosclerosis. This research will help us understand how the heart and circulatory system ages, and ultimately it may lead to novel therapies to treat the effects of ageing and atherosclerosis.
Project details
| Grant amount | £671,888 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellowship |
| Start Date | 01 March 2015 |
| Duration | 5 years |
| Reference | FS/14/29/30896 |
| Status | In Progress |
