Dr. Maria Ratajczak
Research Topic
The role of phospholipid-cholesterol complex formation in cell signalling and cholesterol homeostasis.
Research Interest
Cholesterol - lipid interactions
- complex formation
- active cholesterol
Recent experimental data suggest that cholesterol, a major component of eukaryotic cell membranes, affects cell signalling and membrane trafficking by forming specific complexes with certain lipids. My aim is to exploit simulation techniques to characterize the nature of these complexes at an atomic level. A better understanding of the nature of sterol lipid interactions will lead to a better understanding of how cholesterol acts to regulate the physical properties of membranes as well as its role in cell signalling and membrane trafficking.
Background
BS (Physics) Universite Paris VII 2001
PhD (Physics) University of Chicago 2007
