题 目：Neurobiology of mitophagy

主 讲：Michael Lazarou 教授（Monash University）

时 间：2026年6月24日（周三）下午16:20-17:20

地 点：琳恩图书馆111报告厅

报告摘要：

Mitochondria are fundamental organelles that generate the energy required for life while also acting as important signalling and metabolic hubs. When mitochondria become damaged or dysfunctional, they can cause human disease including Parkinson’s disease. PINK1 and Parkin are mutated in familial Parkinson’s disease, and together, they function to clear damaged mitochondria through a degradative pathway termed mitophagy. A lot of progress has been made toward understanding the molecular mechanisms of mitophagy using simple cell models that have provided key insights. However, our understanding of the neuronal cell biology of the pathway is much less well understood, and this includes how defective mitophagy might cause neurodegeneration. In this seminar, the mechanisms of mitophagy will be discussed along with a deep exploration into the neuronal cell biology of mitophagy using human stem cell derived neurons and mid-brain organoids.

嘉宾简介：

Michael Lazarou heads the Autophagy and Mitochondrial Quality Control laboratory at the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University. He is a Rebecca Cooper Medical Research Foundation Fellow and a National Health and Medical Research Investigator fellow. He is a co-founder and scientific advisory board member of Automera, a biotech start-up focused on degrading disease targets through autophagy.
Michael’s PhD studies at La Trobe University focused on the assembly of mitochondrial protein complexes and how they break down in energy generation disorders. He then undertook his postdoctoral studies in 2010 at the National Institutes of Health (USA) where he focused on the Parkinson’s disease proteins PINK1 and Parkin and their role in maintaining mitochondrial health through mitophagy. Michael’s landmark discoveries in mitophagy and Parkinson's disease have been recognised through the 2013 ASBMB Boomerang Award, the 2022 ASBMB Shimadzu Research Medal, and an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2017–2020).