Mitochondria are double-membrane-bound organelles that are essential for cellular energy production. A fundamental question in eukaryotic cell biology is how the biogenesis of mitochondria is achieved and regulated

线粒体是细胞的关键部分，其中心作用是以适合于许多生物过程的形式产生能量。它们还参与程序性细胞死亡，并维持细胞中适当的钙水平。这些活动需要线粒体与细胞核通讯。线粒体功能的破坏可导致广泛的人类疾病，包括糖尿病、神经退行性疾病、肥胖症、癌症和过早衰老。因此，需要充分了解线粒体的基本过程，以确定线粒体功能障碍的原因和后果，并使我们能够设计新的治疗方法来弥补或纠正这些缺陷。该计划将研究线粒体是如何产生的，以及它们的功能如何响应细胞在生长和发育过程中不断变化的要求。

Mitochondria are key parts of the cell whose central role is to produce energy in a suitable form for many biological processes. They are also involved in programmed cell death, and in maintaining appropriate levels of calcium in cells. These activities require mitochondria to communicate with the cell nucleus. Disruption of mitochondrial function can lead to a broad range of human diseases including diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, obesity, cancer and premature ageing. Therefore, a full understanding of the basic processes in mitochondria is needed to identify the causes and consequences of mitochondrial malfunction and to enable us to design new therapies that compensate for or correct such faults. This programme will study how mitochondria are made and how their function responds to the changing requirements of the cell during growth and development.