This project is rooted in understanding the interactions between lipid droplets and the mitochondrial membrane to carry out the cellular lipid metabolism. In disease states such as type 2 diabetes these functions are dysfunctional leading to impaired contact at the mitochondrial membrane, altered lipid handling and metabolic inflexibility. 

My work this summer will be to improve the understanding of these functions as they remain poorly understood, this will be done through the development of a co-staining technique that will allow these interactions to be visualised in tissue samples. This new technique will allow high-resolution confocal imaging of lipid droplet mitochondrial contact sites and therefore allowing mitochondrial interactions in patient samples to be imaged and understood for diseased states providing a vital tool to understanding and treating metabolic disease for patients with diabetes and heart failure. 

My role in this research will be a histology based research project. I will be learning to use a range of techniques including training in cyrosectioning using optimal cutting temperature embedded control samples and patient-derived heart biopsies. The co-staining technique will involve using advanced fluorescent probes to visualise lipid droplets and mitochondria. Refining this technique will include interactive testing to ensure reproducibility until it is optimised for patient samples. I will also end this project by performing confocal imaging and quantitative analysis to assess the interactions through measures of contact site frequency and morphology using image analysis software.   This quantitative data will be used as preliminary data for future grant applications in investigating organelle communication in metabolite diseases. 

I am extremely excited to begin working on this project and gain such incredible experience in the laboratories. I look forward to updating soon!