By autophagy, a surplus of cell components or cytoplasmic material is transported to the lysosomes where they are degraded. During this process, small vesicles assembly themselves forming a bowl-shaped membrane to capture the degraded components. In doing so the bowl shape enlarges gradually, encloses and completes itself into a sphere - the autophagosome.

More than 30 proteins are supposed to play a role in the development of this process, which is still poorly understood. In addition, the "waste" has to be recognized and transported to the lysosomes. The winner Dr. Wollert is primarily concerned with these transport processes. He investigates these cellular mechanisms especially with bacteria, yeast and insect cells.

With autophagy the cell protects itsself against excess waste - a process that is possibly disturbed in Alzheimer's disease, which is why the research is an important contribution to the understanding of the disease and possible therapies.

Source and further information:
http://www.biochem.mpg.de/4977793/20150420_wollert_eppendorf
http://www.biochem.mpg.de/en/rg/wollert/research