Characterization of the quality control mechanisms that operate in human mitochondrial protein synthesis

"Of all the rights of the world/A single one I do not yield/It is my core strategy/And it is my sole belief/I believe in the power of question/Even if I do not find its answer"
- Adrian Paunescu "The right to ask questions"

I did my undergraduate degree in biochemistry, at the faculty of Biology in Bucharest. During this period, I developed an interest for cell biology and metabolism. For my master studies I moved to the Netherlands, at Radboud University in Nijmegen, where I performed a research masters degree in the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease. I became passionate about mitochondria thanks to the inspiring teachers and classes that I had the chance to encounter. During the time when I was a Radboud student, I received an Erasmus scholarship with the University of Bordeaux where I was hosted by Laboratoire Maladies Rares, Génétique et Métabolisme, and studied the degradation of mitochondrial proteins by the ubiquitin-proteasome system.

Becoming a REMIX ITN fellow is therefore the best door that could open for my scientific career. My research is exciting and challenging. My work focuses on a particular aspect from mitochondrial gene expression: the translation release factors that operate in human mitochondrial protein synthesis. I am happy to live in an international environment here in Newcastle and to be part of a multidisciplinary team. I will do the best of the next three years..