2019 participants
Thuvina Aruku Naidi
Mitochondria are responsible for producing the majority of the energy a cell requires to function correctly. In some diseases, mitochondria no longer function properly, which stops cells working as they should and in some cases causes them to die. One way which we think we can stop this happening is by treating the cells with drugs that force them to make more mitochondria. If the cell has more mitochondria, even if they are not working as well as they should be, it is possible that the cell has just enough energy to function normally. The aim of this project is to test different compounds on skin cells to determine if there is an increase in the concentration of mitochondria. The skin cells are imaged using the Cell Discoverer 7 microscope and analysed using Columbus software and visualised with TIBCO Spotfire.
Funding source: Newcastle University
Project supervisor: Dr Oliver Russell