2004 ASBMB Fellowship: Diana Stojanovski

Diane Stojanovski In 2001 I commenced my Honours degree in the Department of Biochemistry at La Trobe University under the supervision of Dr Michael Ryan working in the area of mitochondrial import. At the time I thought an Honours year would be a great way to finish off my degree but as the year pressed on I realised how much I enjoyed working at the bench and more importantly how enthusiastic I had become about mitochondria. After graduating with first class Honours I decided to stay on with Mike for a PhD and continue in the area of mitochondrial biogenesis.

So here I am in the third year of my PhD and what an amazing ride it has been. My doctoral research involves the characterisation of mammalian mitochondrial fission. Although it has been known since the mid 1960s that mitochondria cannot be created de novo, but instead divide by a process analogous to that of bacterial binary fission, the mediators of this event in the case of lower eukaryotes only began to emerge in the late 1990s. Since then the field has boomed with mammalian mediators emerging and it has been an absolute joy working in such a stimulating and competitive area of mitochondrial biogenesis. As I commenced my PhD at the beginning of 2002 I set out to characterise at the functional level a human homologue of the yeast mitochondrial fission mediator Fis1p - human Fis1 (hFis1). I have been able to disclose the cellular location, membrane topology and the targeting information that directs this intriguing protein to the mitochondrial outer membrane. Over-expression studies and knock down at the protein level by RNA interference clearly established hFis1 as a regulator of mammalian mitochondrial fission.

Given the competitive area of the field, the fear of being beaten by a competing group to publication was enough to give me many sleepless nights during my second year. This was nevertheless a very valuable learning experience and one which I am sure I will be encountering again. I was fortunate enough to be able to publish this work in the Journal of Cell Science. Having established the role of hFis1 in mitochondrial fission my focus has now shifted to resolving what other components may interact with hFis1 to co-ordinate this complex and essential process.

I am most grateful to the ASBMB in awarding me this fellowship which will give me the opportunity to attend the Gordon Conference on Mitochondria and Chloroplasts. Although the mitochondria are near and dear to my heart, I share a very deep interest in its cousin the chloroplast. I eagerly await attending the meeting and look forward to being bombarded with mitochondria, mitochondria and more mitochondria.

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This page last modified: October 10, 2008.