Dr Richard Youle from the Porter Neuroscience Centre at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) gave the 9th SCILLS lecture on June 14th 2017.

Dr Youle is one of the world’s leading cell biologists whose lab has made seminal discoveries into the role of mitochondrial signaling in both health and disease with a specific focus on neurological disorders. His lab discovered the function and interrelationships between two enzymes mutated in Parkinson’s disease, the kinase PINK1 and ubiquitin ligase Parkin, and demonstrated that these enzymes regulate the selective degradation of mitochondria via the autophagy pathway known as mitophagy.

Dr Youle’s research has influenced several groups in the MRC PPU, including Miratul Muqit, Ian Ganley, Helen Walden and Satpal Virdee. During his 3 day visit hosted by Miratul, Dr Youle met with Group Leaders and younger scientists with an interest in cell signaling. In his lecture he revealed fascinating new insights into the regulation of the first steps of mitophagy.

The SCILLS Lecture is the MRC PPU’s most important annual lecture with a focus on ubiquitylation and serves to commemorate the founding of Scottish Institute for Cell Signalling (SCILLS) in 2008 by Philip Cohen. The Institute was merged with the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit in 2013 under the directorship of Dario Alessi and has underpinned much of the MRC PPU’s interest and capability in the area of ubiquitylation.