All our body's processes rely on cells whose well-being and proper functioning are essential for our health. A key process of the cell is the production of proteins, which enable it to perform the various roles required to maintain the functions of the body and its organs. These functions include converting food into energy, communicating between neurons in the brain or secreting proteins to form the scaffolding that holds our tissues such as bones and skin together.

Alison Forrester explains: "Protein production can be compared to a car production plant, as shown in the diagram opposite - click on the image to enlarge! The basic materials are prepared in one area of the factory, they are transported to another area for adjustments, and they are fully assembled into the finished car just before they leave the factory. In my recent work, we discovered a compound that can decrease the efficiency of an early stage of the protein 'production chain'. This is the first time we have evidence that it is possible to alter the efficiency of this process. It also provides a tool that my group will use to study the details of how this process fundamentally works and how it is controlled."

"The process of protein manufacture and transport is complex and can go wrong, for example in fibrosis," she continues.  "In some cases, too much or too little or the wrong proteins are made and secreted by the cell, which causes disturbances in the body and can lead to the development of diseases. My group will investigate how we can use different compounds to alter the efficiency of the cellular process of protein trafficking, and how this will affect the normal balance within the cell. Finally, we aim to test these compounds against different diseases caused by the disruption of protein trafficking, thus designing a new therapeutic approach,' she concludes.

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Narilis

Express CV

A post-doctoral researcher at the Institut Curie, Paris, France, Alison Forrester has just obtained an FNRS position as a Qualified Researcher at UNamur, within the NARILIS Institute. Her expertise includes autophagy in homeostasis and disease, and membrane trafficking. She is particularly interested in the endoplasmic reticulum at its exit sites. Since her PhD in 2012, she has developed advanced skills in confocal and advanced imaging techniques, including confocal scanning microscopy, Airyscan, FRAP, live cell imaging, electron microscopy, correlated photonic and electron microscopy (CLEM).

She is passionate about creative frontier-free research, working in multidisciplinary and collaborative environments. She is also passionate about passing on her enthusiasm for research and offering first-hand experiences to people through outreach initiatives, such as school visits, science fairs, lectures and talks, as well as classical seminars and lectures to the scientific community.