Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Monash University
Clayton, Victoria, 3800
Email: Lan.Gong@med.monash.edu.au
In collaboration with Professors Ben Adler and Ross Coppel, Dr Gong is investigating the interactions between host autophagy and intracellular trafficking of pathogenic bacteria including Burkholderia pseudomallei and mycobacteria.
Autophagy is a ubiquitous constitutive process, by which subcellular components are degraded via a lysosomal/vacuolar system. It is involved in protein/organelle turnover, cell growth and differentiation, cell death, cancer and neuromuscular diseases. Autophagy has been recently linked to host response to microbial infection. It can either act as a means of defense against bacterial invasion or being subverted by pathogens to benefit their intracellular survival.