The LMB is thrilled to announce the appointment of Roni Levin Konigsberg, who has joined the Cell Biology Division where he will lead a research group investigating the behaviour of phagocytic cells, as well as their role in disease.
Roni commented, “I am deeply honoured to join the LMB and the Cell Biology Division. I am particularly excited by the shared commitment to understanding biology at a fundamental level. My group will focus on how specialised cells in our organisms ingest and process large amounts of pathogenic materials to prevent chronic diseases. Beyond advancing this area of research, I look forward to the opportunity to interact and collaborate with the incredibly talented and dedicated people that make the LMB such a unique institution. I can’t think of a better place to pursue my group’s goals and to train the next generation of scientists.”
Phagocytes are specialised cells, responsible for recognising, clearing and degrading potentially harmful material within tissues and more widely in the body’s circulatory system. This material can include microorganisms, cholesterol, protein aggregates and dead cells, the latter of which our bodies produce over 200 billion of each day. Roni’s group will seek to establish the molecular mechanisms which allow phagocytes to continuously ingest such large quantitates of diverse cell types, whilst retaining functionality throughout their lifespans which can stretch into years.
This question also holds clinical interest, as when pathogenic or waste materials are not cleared from the body, this can result in a wide range of life-threatening diseases, including infections, heart disease, neurodegeneration, and autoimmune conditions. An advanced, molecular understanding of how phagocytes function, may shed light on how they are altered in these diseases and could ultimately inform the future development of new therapeutic interventions.
Roni’s group will utilise a multidisciplinary approach, combining high-throughput genetic technologies with biochemical and physiological methodology and advanced microscopy to study phagocytic cells. This will allow them to determine the role of individual proteins in phagocytic clearance, as well as identifying how cellular components are altered in cases of disease.
Roni began his research career with a B.Sc. in Biochemical Engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), Mexico, following this up with a Ph.D. in the group of Sergio Grinstein at the University of Toronto, Canada. Since receiving his Ph.D., Roni has been based at Stanford University, US, working as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Michael Bassik’s group in the Department of Genetics.