Welcome to the lab of Vanessa Morris at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Our research is focused on studying the structures, mechanisms and interactions of aggregating proteins. We are particularly interested in a certain fibre-like structure that is formed by a great variety of proteins called amyloid fibrils. We study amyloid proteins involved in disease, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and ALS/MND, as well as those that have functions in important biological processes.
The kinds of questions we are looking at include:
- What are the functions of amyloids and aggregates in different biological processes?
- What are the structural details of aggregates that have functional and disease-relevant roles?
- How do other proteins and small molecules affect the aggregation of disease-relevant proteins, and at what stage do they affect aggregation?
- How do disease mutations affect aggregation or functional behaviour of aggregation-prone proteins?
Location
We are located in the city of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. Christchurch is a top location for visitors to the country, due to its proximity to mountains and seaside, and access to outdoor pursuits like hiking, skiing, kayaking, surfing, wildlife viewing, fishing, diving, swimming and much more!
We thanks the following funders for their support.
