Real-time chemical tools to capture and control hexosamine sugar signaling in cells and Shining a Light on Neurodegeneration with single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy

"Real-time chemical tools to capture and control hexosamine sugar signaling in cells"

All cells use sugar, but a consequence of unbalanced sugar usage is disease through hexosamine sugar signaling pathways. To precisely define the roles of hexosamine sugar-driven effects, the Fehl Group designs chemical tools sensitive for live-cell applications, for example our light-controlled photosugars and our cell compartment-specific "GlycoID" labeling strategy. We apply chemical biology tools at the interface of metabolism disease and cancer pathways to discover new roles for glucose-driven events in cells and disease risk.

"Shining a Light on neurodegeneration with single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy"

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, are characterised by the misfolding and aggregation of soluble monomeric protein into insoluble amyloid fibrils. Despite these being the pathological hallmark of the diseases, it is the earlier oligomers composed of a smaller number of misfolded monomers that are thought to be the most cytotoxic species. These are challenging to study due to their low abundance, dynamic nature, and high heterogeneity. For this reason, we have developed and utilised single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy approaches to visualise individual protein aggregates, characterising their shapes and sizes in a range of complex biological samples