Cell death is the field of study of the researcher Kevin M. Ryan at The Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow (UK). On Friday, March 22 within the cycle of seminars IDIBELL, Ryan explained the latest advances in his research of one of the mechanisms of cell death: autophagy.

The goal of the laboratory of Kevin M. Ryan is to identify the factors that regulate cell death in tumor cells. “Programmed cell death is a protective mechanism of the body against cancer, because inhibition of these processes is a common event in tumor development” Ryan explained.

Ryan’s team investigates the signaling pathways regulating both known cell death processes: apoptosi and autophagy, and the identification of proteins that control these pathways. “Our idea is to develop drugs mimicking regulator cell death factors in the clinically relevant signaling pathways so we can enhanced cell death in tumors,” said Ryan also said that “in the end, the goal of a science basic lab should be transfer knowledge to therapeutic improvements for patients.”