Mitochondrial biogenesis: dynamic complexes for a dynamic organelle

Professor Mike Ryan
Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute
Monash University

Abstract: Mitochondria are the primary site of energy production for the cell and as such are essential for cell viability. These organelles are also involved in other processes including apoptosis, innate immunity and calcium homeostasis. Since mitochondria are not created de novo, their biogenesis requires proteins to be both imported and made within the organelle. As mitochondria grow, they also need to divide. Our research focuses on the assembly of mitochondrial machines along with mitochondrial fission  mechanisms. Our recents findings relating to these processes will be discussed.

Bio: Mike is Professor in Biochemistry and Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University.

Mike has always had an interest in mitochondrial biology. He was a PhD student with Peter Hoj and Nick Hoogenraad (La Trobe/Adelaide) working on molecular chaperones. He then undertook postdoc work as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow with Klaus Pfanner (Freiburg, Germany) on protein import mechanisms. In 2000, he became a teaching and research academic at La Trobe University and later became head of the Department of Biochemistry (2010-2013). Mike subsequently joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University in 2014. Mike’s lab employs biochemical, cellular and systems approaches to investigate mitochondrial function and defects in disease related to energy generation and mitochondrial dynamics. Mike serves on a number of committees including as a member for the Scientific and Medical Advisory Panel for the Australian Mitochondria Disease Foundation (AMDF) and on the Human Frontiers Science Program grant panel. He was also president of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB, 2015-2016).