mitochondrialdiseases

In Episode 12, we discuss the progress of personalization in the field of reproductive medicine with our guest Dr. Helen O'Neill. Helen is a Lecturer in Reproductive and Molecular Genetics and Director for the MSc Program in Reproductive Science and Women’s Health at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College London. She has over 10 years of experience as a researcher and science communicator on various topics of reproductive medicine, genome editing, and women’s health. Beyond her work as an academic, she recently co-founded Hertility Health with the aim to change the face of women’s health.

Our host Luisa talked to Helen about:

◦ The importance of reproductive health
◦ The power of genome editing
◦ CRISPR as a collection of technologies
◦ Ethical concerns around genome editing
◦ Using sequencing to examine embryo development
◦ Gene editing in clinical settings
◦ Start-up story of Hertility Health
◦ Why women's health research is still in its infancy
◦ The need for open science communication
◦ Including men in fertility education
◦ Launching a start-up during COVID-19
◦ Improving women's health through more research
◦ The future of personalized medicine in reproductive health

Get in touch with Helen:
UCL Iris profile: Helen O Neill
Twitter: @DrHelenONeill
LinkedIn: Dr Helen O' Neill
Instagram @dr.helenoneill
Web: https://hertilityhealth.com/

Make sure to download the full show notes with our guest's bio, links to their most notable work, and our recommendations for further reads on the topic of the episode at pmedcast.com

Drp1 cuts off mitophagy

Misfolded mitochondrial proteins can be eliminated by Parkin-dependent mitophagy but how this process selectively removes damaged mitochondrial regions is unclear. Burman et al. reveal that protein aggregates in the mitochondrial matrix trigger a local accumulation of Parkin on the mitochondrial outer membrane, and that the mitochondrial fission protein Drp1 segregates these domains to prevent Parkin accumulation from spreading and directing the elimination of healthy regions of the organelle. This biosights episode presents the paper by Burman et al. from the October 2nd, 2017, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Richard Youle (NINDS, NIH). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.