Cell biologist Fulvio Reggiori is a tenure-track assistant professor at the department of Cell Biology and his research focuses on autophagy, intracellular ‘cannibalism’. From the University Utrecht he received a HiPo grant together with virologist Xander de Haan from the Veterinary Faculty. The Dutch Organization of Scientific Research awarded him a VIDI grant.
Could you introduce yourself?
“I am from the Italian speaking area of Switzerland. I was trained as a biochemist in Switzerland and after two post-doc positions in the UK and the United States, I now work at the UMC Utrecht. Thanks to a VIDI and a HiPO grant, I have been able to start my own research group which currently comprises seven people.”
What’s your research about?
“I try to understand the mechanism of autophagy. In this process, the cell forms large intracellular vesicles called autophagosomes that fuse with the hydrolytic enzymes-containing lysosome. Autophagosomes -- some sort of Pacmans, so to speak -- are capable of ‘digesting’ entire organelles or even bacteria that enter the cell. This process is essential to the cell in multiple physiological and pathological situations. For example, it is involved in fighting infections and tumors. Also, it is crucial when faced with starvation. Newborn mice, cut off from the placenta and not yet capable to suck, rely on internal energy reserves that in part have to be released by autophagy. Mice with autophagy defects or mutations die soon after birth. Understanding autophagy could therapeutically mean a lot for different cancers and possibly for neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disorders. In the latter cases, neurons accumulate deadly protein aggregates. It has been shown that this process can be brought to a halt using autophagy and the disease stops from progressing.”
What are you proud of?
“I wanted to develop an immuno-electron microscopy (IEM) procedure to be applied in yeast, a commonly used model organism, that so far had resisted morphological analysis by IEM. I wanted to acquire this technology because I know that was the only experimental way to answer some basic questions regarding the mechanism of autophagy. And indeed, we succeeded in applying the technique to yeast. A real breakthrought in the field, which has brought us numerous international collaborations with yeast researchers eager to use IEM.”
Why the UMC Utrecht? “The overall high quality of research at the UMC Utrecht obviously is a huge advantage, but in the field of cell biology the department of Cell Biology specifically is world-wide famous for its expertise in IEM. The expertise on immuno-electron microscopy is really unique. In addition, the expertises of my colleagues perfectly fit with my research lines creating a unique environment. Also, the institute of biomembranes, a collaboration involving the faculties of medicine, veterinary medicine and science, is nearby. It means there’s a wide array of experts available that can assist in solving any practical and conceptual problem regarding organelle biogenesis and membrane trafficking.”
Future plans?
“We are currently exploiting our immuno-electron microscopy technique and combining with fluorescence microscopy and biochemistry to try to unveil the molecular mechanism underlying autophagy. I’m happy to say that I’m pretty much on schedule, research is going well.
“On a different note I feel I should spend more time learning Dutch. At my department, and science as a whole of course, English is the lingua franca and I’m perfectly fine. But to really integrate in Dutch society knowing the language is essential. Occasionally, I have to rely on my oldest son for understanding official documents. In the USA I felt like a visitor, in the Netherlands I am more a foreigner.”