Prof. FREDERICA THEODOULOU

BIOGRAPHY

Freddie's research focuses on targeted protein degradation in plants, in particular the N-end rule pathway. A combination of genetics, quantitative proteomics and conventional biochemistry is used to probe the functions and substrates of E3 ligases; the lab is also developing tools to measure protein lifetime in plants. We have a particular interest in protein turnover and oxygen sensing, with a long-term goal of improving flood tolerance in crops. Rothamsted Research is a centre of excellence for plant lipid metabolism, and the lab belongs to the Lipid Signalling and Metabolism "supergroup". We have expertise in peroxisomal transport proteins (especially ABC transporters) involved in lipid catabolism and have also identified novel regulators of lipid breakdown via genetic screens. Our discovery, that targeted protein degradation plays a role in the control of lipid metabolism, unites the two main research themes of the lab.