Dr Symeon Siniossoglou

Project/study information 

Cells use lipids as building blocks to form their membranes and as storage molecules to preserve energy for later use. Membranes separate cells from the environment, and continuous membrane synthesis is required for cell growth and proliferation while the ability to store energy in the form of triacylglycerol (or fat) in lipid droplets is essential for survival during nutritional or environmental stress. Our aim is to understand how different lipids are made and the mechanisms by which cells partition them between membranes for growth or lipid droplets for energy storage. This understanding is vital as disruption of the balanced use and processing of lipids in cells can result in several pathologies and is at the heart of the current obesity epidemic.