About me
I was born and raised in Poland, and I moved for university to the UK in 2018. After a short adventure studying MSci Applied Medical Sciences at UCL, I have decided, London is not for me, so I dropped out and restarted my education in the north at the University of Manchester, where I studied MSci Pharmacology, and graduated with a first class degree. Around year three, I got really interested in the cell transport, that led me to undertake an internship at the University of Ottawa, researching the molecular mechanism of ABCG5/G8 transporter. I hoped for a similar MSci final year project, but I was thrusted into the world of lysosomes. I worked on the project investigating their positioning in cell death and during that year I realised I really enjoy working with this system. It is transport after all, though on a different scale and with way more intricacies and mysteries yet to uncover. This is why I have decided to undertake a project in endosomal and lysosomal proteomics, to try and answer some more questions surrounding this system Outside of pure research, I like getting involved in educational and scientific events, which led me to work on the Peer Assisted Study Scheme, back in Manchester, and to organise Faculty PGR Symposium here in Leeds. I like traveling and exploring, which Yorkshire is amazing for. I also drink unhealthy amounts of tea, but last time I checked, it’s not directly bad on endosomes, so I think I’m safe.
My Project
It’s been shown that members of Bunyaviridae virus family (and many other viruses) require potassium entry into early endosomes, in order to successfully evade being transported into lysosomes and to infect the cell. Since viruses largely use the host physiological processes, the question is, why does potassium flux into endosomes. We know much about other ions’ roles, such as sodium, chloride and calcium in the endo-lysosomal system, but potassium still remains largely left out of researchers’ sight. Some scarce publications point at the ph control and vesicle fusion-fission events, though nothing is known about the mechanics of potassium involvement in these processes. I am looking at endosomal and lysosomal proteomes and how do they change under different luminal potassium concentrations. In order to do this, I purify vesicles using novel Endo-IP and Lyso-IP methods to pull down intact organelles from cell homogenate. The aim of my project is to understand the ion channels and transporters involved in the endosomal potassium fluxes, as well as to bring all the current knowledge and tie it up with my proteomic analyses.
Connect
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrobkiewiczT