Würzburg Life Science Seminar: Lena Pernas

Prof Lena Pernas - “Microbial metabolism in the defense against microbes”

Lena Pernas' main research focus is to investigate the metabolic dynamics during the infection process. Pathogens, such as the intracellular parasite and model organism Toxoplasma gondii, commonly exploit the host’s metabolic processes for their own advantage. However, host organelles, like mitochondria, seem to detect these intruders and have evolved strategies to defend their resources. Professor Pernas aims to shed light on this host-parasite nutrient competition. Her research group has recently demonstrated how host mitochondria limit access to resources, such as fatty acids, for T. gondii, thereby dampening the pathogen’s growth.

Her laboratory is keen to further investigate this complex host-pathogen arms race to try and understand how organelles can sense and respond to invading pathogens and how this knowledge can be exploited to combat infection.