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Dr Robin Du

Dr Robin Du

Senior Research Associate
2003 – 2007: PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, UNSW
2002 – 2003: MSc in Biotechnology, UNSW
Science
School of Biotech & Biomolecular Science

Professional Experience:

2010 – current: Senior Research Associate, School of BABS

2007 – 2010: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of BABS

Research Contribution:

Dr Du’s research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of intracellular lipid trafficking and investigating how changes in membrane lipid distribution and metabolism contribute to metabolic disorders and cancer. He received a PhD from UNSW in 2007 for studies examining molecular machinery controlling cholestero...
Phone
(+61 2) 9385 8112
E-mail
x.r.du@unsw.edu.au
Location
Level 3 East, Biological Sciences Building South, E26

2019, Research Excellence Awards, Australian Association of Chinese Biomedical Scientists

2020, Research Excellence Awards, Australian Association of Chinese Biomedical Scientists

RESEARCH INTERESTS

1.  Intracellular lipid (e.g., cholesterol and phosphatidylserine) sorting/transport/scrambling by lipid bind/transfer proteins and scramblases

2. The role of membrane lipid distribution in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

3. The biology of lipid droplets and their associated proteins. 

 

RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS 

My research has contributed to the significant advance of knowledge in the field of intracellular lipid sensing, trafficking, and storage. My previous work demonstrated that:

  • newly identified phospholipid scramblases TMEM41B and VMP1 regulate the intracellular distribution of phosphatidylserine (PS), the focus of this project (Li et al, J. Cell Biol. 2021).
  • lysosomal cholesterol egress requires low-pH-dependent structural alteration of NPC1 and NPC2 (Qian et al, Cell 2020).
  • lipid transfer protein ORP5 can connect the endoplasmic reticulum to lipid droplet and maintain the abundance of lipids on the lipid droplet surface (Du et al, J Cell Biol. 2020).
  • lipid transfer proteins, including ORP1, ORP5 and ORP8, can exchange lipids between two organelles at membrane contact sites (Ghai et al. Nat. Commun. 2017; Dong et al. Nat. Commun. 2019).
  • lipid transfer proteins such as NPC1 and ORP5 can be associated with cell signalling and play a role in cancer development (Du et al. Biochem. J. 2015; Du et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2018).
  • lysosomal low-density lipoprotein-derived cholesterol transport involves endoplasmic reticulum-anchored lipid transfer proteins (ORP5) and the components (Hrs and VPS4) of the ESCRT (endosomal sorting complex required for transport) pathway (Du et al. J Cell Biol. 2011; Du et al. Cell Reports 2012; Du et al. Traffic 2013).
  • processing of SREBP (sterol-responsive element binding protein), the transcription factor that governs cholesterol synthesis and uptake, is regulated by an important signalling molecule (Akt), linking a key cell proliferative pathway to membrane synthesis (Du et al. Mol. Biol. Cell 2006).
  • effects of an oxysterol (25-hydroxycholesterol) on cholesterol esterification and cholesterol sensing by its homeostatic machinery are dissociable, providing the first insight into the measurement of cholesterol transport to the endoplasmic reticulum (Du et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2004).