LipidX
Systems Biology of Biomembranes
Lipids, with DNA and sugars, are the major building blocks of living cells. Eucaryotic cells, and in particular mammalian cells, contain thousands of different lipid species and devote some 5% of their entire genome to the synthesis of these molecules.
Despite their importance, because of the difficulty of studying these hydrophobic metabolites, lipids have long been neglected in the "omics" era. This has changed over recent years with the emergence of lipidomics.
The central, overarching questions of LipidX are: what role do various lipids or lipid assemblies play, how is lipid homeostasis – or lipidostasis – controlled at the genetic and protein levels, how and why is lipid localization controlled in a given cell or a given membrane and, finally, how does the endomembrane system arise and function.
| Principal Investigator | Prof. Gisou van der Goot, Global Health Institute, EPF Lausanne |
| Involved Institutions | EPF Lausanne, University of Geneva, University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, University of Lausanne |
| Number of Research Groups | 14 |
| Project Duration | Jul. 2008 - Dec. 2012 |
| Approved SystemsX.ch Funds | CHF 10.018 million |
Updated September 2012
