We are interested in the mechanisms controlling the spatial regulation of nutrient homeostasis in health, senescence and cancer.

In healthy cells, a dynamic balance between biosynthesis, degradation and recycling supports growth. This is controlled, at least in part by the pro-growth mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and the degradative autophagy-lysosome pathway. mTORC1 is activated by nutrients and energy to control protein translation, lipid and nucleotide synthesis while autophagy involves the sequestration of cytoplasmic contents in both selective and non-selective (bulk) ways to deliver them to the lysosome for degradation. Importantly, there is extremely tight reciprocal control between mTORC1 and the autophagy-lysosome pathway to maintain proteostasis and homeostasis. We are studying the mechanisms controlling the localisation and activity of these processes and how rewiring of this equilibrium contributes to cellular senescence (a tumour suppressor mechanism of cell cycle arrest) and cancer.