Nadia Guarini received her PhD diploma

On May 24^th, Nadia Guarini publicly presented her PhD work and successfully received her diploma. Her research dealt with the molecular relationships between membrane transporters and TORC1, a kinase complex playing a pivotal role in control of cell growth. More specifically, she focused on initial TORC1 activation upon nutrient uptake into yeast cells and the important role in this process of the most abundant cell surface protein, namely the H+-pump encoded by the PMA1 gene. The signal of this activation is the influx of H+ coupled to active nutrient uptake via permeases and sensed by the Pma1 H+ pump. Nadia has solved the long-sought question of what are the protein kinases and phosphatases mediating Pma1 phosphoregulation and she also uncovered an interesting negative feedback control of Pma1 by activated TORC1. Congratulations to Nadia for her scientific achievements and thanks to her for the excellent time spent with her in the lab !