Curriculum in PDF: English CV

FeS clusters assembly process, in mammals and in unicellular microorganisms (see proposed thesis for more details).

General subjet of the proposed thesis: structural and functional analysis of proteins involved in the FeS clusters assembly process. Main experimental approaches used in our laboratory: 1) basic molecular biology techniques: cloning, PCR, site-directed mutagenesis, heterologous expression of recombinant proteins; 2) basic biochemical techniques: SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, purification of recombinant proteins by ionic exchange, gel filtraion and affinity chromatographies, UV-visible and fluorescence spectrophotometry; 3) advanced spectrophotometric techniques (in collaboration with the Department of Chemical Sciences): Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR); 4) cellular biology techniques: cell cultures, transient transfections, confocal and electronic microscopy. PROPOSED THESIS 1) Structural and functional analysis of frataxin, a small protein involved in Friedreich's Ataxia, a neurodegenerative disease associated to a loss of FeS clusters and to mitochondrial dysfunctions. 2) Structural and functional analysis of the FeS cluster assembly machinery of [FeFe]-hydrogenases, enzymes with potential biotechnological applications in the field of hydrogen gas production.