Jennie Parker

• BSc (Hons) Physiological Sciences
• To characterise Sulfatase 2 and FAT/CD36 in lipid rafts in normal and diseased liver tissue

Fatty liver disease and cancer have risen markedly owing to increases in obesity and diabetes. Dr Reeves team have identified a protein called sulfatase 2 (SULF2), which we believe alters the normal way the body deals with fat. It increases the release of fatty acids into the circulation, and increases their uptake into the liver, causing liver damage and eventually liver cancer. In my summer project, I will study SULF2 and the fatty acid receptor we believe it regulates (FAT/CD36) in regions of cell membranes called lipid rafts. Understanding how these interact may lead to treatments that prevent cancer.

Funding source: Newcastle University