Damage & repair of membrane lipids in health and diseases

The oxidative damage to lipids in the membranes of cells represents a major health risk. A number of diseases with different mechanistic causes have been described in humans, which are either triggered or accelerated by disruption of membrane lipids. These include rare inherited diseases, such as disorders in the breakdown of fats in the mitochondria, the so-called fatty acid ß-oxidation. Damage to membrane lipids also occurs in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn`s disease or during certain forms of programmed cell death. Although these conditions affect a considerable number of patients and the interaction of such damaging factors with the existing membrane lipid repair systems is of utmost importance, these processes are only superficially understood. As a result, an elucidation of the underlying disease-relevant mechanisms has been largely prevented. As a multidisciplinary team, it is our goal to comprehensively elucidate the pathological effects of damage to membrane lipids. We focus on disorders that are caused by defects in the ß-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, or in connection with inflammatory bowel disease. Our research team consists of five young and aspiring scientists with backgrounds in biochemistry, analytical chemistry, biology, applied mathematics, systems biology, and medicine. By bundling our diverse expertise, we are in the unique position to tackle the challenging research questions in this project on multiple levels. There are two important factors that will contribute significantly to the success of the project: We have sophisticated biological model systems available for the planned research activities and this project is particularly favoured by the use of integrative data analysis strategies, which combine novel analytical and mathematical data modelling strategies in innovative approaches. Our project concept will allow us to achieve a comprehensive understanding of oxidative damage and repair of lipids in membranes on multiple levels. This makes it possible to better understand the underlying biochemical processes in lipid metabolism, in physiology, and their manifestation in patients.