Countdown grant for Elias Adriaenssens to study mitochondria removal
Elias Adriaenssens, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Tim Clausen, was awarded a research grant by the non-profit “Countdown”. The grant will allow him to study how damaged mitochondria are removed from cells. The project adds a crucial angle to the growing portfolio of research funded by Countdown, which seeks to improve the understanding of mitochondria and their role in health and specific diseases.
When mitochondria - the cell’s power plants – do not function properly, severe disorders can emerge that often affect the brain, muscles, and other tissues with high energy demand. Recent research has shown that lowering oxygen levels can activate protective programs in cells that improve mitochondrial health in several experimental models of mitochondrial disease. Among these programs is a pathway controlled by the proteins NIX and BNIP3, which helps cells remove damaged mitochondria through a process called mitophagy. While this pathway is thought to play a key role in maintaining mitochondrial quality, how it is regulated remains largely unknown.
With a research grant from US non-profit Countdown, Elias Adriaenssens, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Tim Clausen, will now investigate the molecular machinery that controls the NIX/BNIP3 pathway. Rather than broadly altering oxygen levels in the body — which affects many biological processes and may carry risks — Adriaenssens aims to identify and understand a specific regulatory complex that switches this mitochondrial cleanup pathway on and off.
The project aims to improve the understanding of how cells selectively remove non-working mitochondria. Strategies to sustain healthy mitochondria could ultimately benefit patients with mitochondrial diseases and other conditions where mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role, which include neurodegenerative disorders and muscle diseases.
“I am impressed by how effectively Countdown identifies and funds research projects that are firmly anchored in basic research and yet show promise for enabling a long-term impact on the lives of people with with mitochondrial dysfunction, and for the broader goal of preventing disease and improving how we age” says Adriaenssens. “It is especially great to receive this support as a researcher at a European institution. Attracting support from private donors in the United States is an amazing acknowledgement of the value of this research.”
About Elias Adriaenssens
Elias Adriaenssens is a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Tim Clausen at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) at the Vienna BioCenter. He joined the Vienna BioCenter as a postdoc at the Max Perutz Labs in 2019. Adriaenssens completed his PhD in molecular biology at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. He also holds a Master’s degree in pharmacology from the University of Oxford (2014), as well as undergraduate and Master’s degrees in biochemistry from the University of Antwerp. He has received several awards and honours, including a Medical Research Council (MRC) Studentship Award (2013); a Wolfson College High Profile Achievement Award (2014); a Rotary Hope-in-Head Grant (2019); and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship.
About Countdown
Countdown is a nonprofit focused on accelerating mitochondrial science and medicine across the full spectrum of human health to improve how people feel, function, and age. By focusing on mitochondria — the shared biological network underlying many of the most pressing diseases of our time — Countdown is driving a more integrated approach to scientific breakthroughs that transform how we understand, prevent, and treat disease at its source.
Countdown funds research, expand awareness, and unite scientists, clinicians, philanthropists, industry leaders, and visionary brands to drive real-world impact and accelerate the future of health.
To learn more about the research Countdown has funded, partnership opportunities, and ways to support Countdown's mission, visit JoinCountdown.org or contact info[at]countdown.org.