Project Reference: TRG27-IMR-JD1

Project title: Developing Biosensors to Decipher the Glycosphingolipid Code

Project outline

Cell membranes are the essential boundaries that surround cells and their internal compartments. Far from being simple barriers, they contain a diverse range of lipids that help control signalling pathways and define cellular identity. Among the most important of these are glycosphingolipids (GSLs), complex sugar-containing lipids found on the outer surface of cells. GSLs play critical roles in cell communication and recognition and change during development and ageing. Despite their importance, researchers currently lack reliable tools to visualise specific GSLs in living cells.

In contrast, the study of another class of signalling lipids, phosphatidylinositol phosphates (PIPs), was transformed by the development of fluorescent biosensors that revealed where these lipids are located and how they change during cellular processes. No equivalent technology exists for GSLs because their complex sugar structures make it difficult to develop proteins that recognise individual GSL species with high specificity.

This project aims to address this long-standing challenge by developing a new generation of fluorescent GSL biosensors. The research will identify, optimise, and engineer proteins that selectively bind specific GSLs, creating tools that can be used to visualise these lipids in cells.

This highly interdisciplinary project offers excellent training in protein engineering, biochemistry, cell biology, imaging, and computational approaches. It provides an exciting opportunity for a PhD student to develop a broad range of cutting-edge research skills while contributing to a technology that could have wide-ranging applications across cell and membrane biology.

Principal Supervisor

Professor Janet Deane

Email address: jed55@cam.ac.uk

Department / Partner Institute: Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (CIMR)

Website: https://www.cimr.cam.ac.uk/staff/professor-janet-deane

BBSRC strategic theme

Transformative technologies