Dr Cathy Slack

Supervisor Details

Contacts Details

School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick

Scientific Background

Research Interests

Improvements in healthcare over the last 100 years have resulted in dramatic increases in life expectancy worldwide. This has resulted in a global shift in demographics with more people living to increasingly older ages. While this is a significant achievement, it also means that increasingly more people live long enough to suffer from multiple age-related diseases. And that is because increased age is the major risk factor for a range of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration. This presents society with new challenges because as the number of older people in the population increases so does the incidences of age-related disease.

But what if we were to consider such age-related pathologies as symptoms of one common underlying indication, ageing itself? Could we develop therapeutic interventions that target ageing itself to alleviate its effects, thereby prolonging health well into old age?

Ageing has long been considered an inevitable consequence of life. However, recent scientific advances have revealed that it has an underlying biological process, influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Research using laboratory organisms such as worms, flies and mice, has shown that remarkably similar interventions can extend lifespan and delay the adverse effects of ageing across different species. This striking evolutionary conservation indicates that these simple organisms will provide beneficial insights into human ageing.

Our research aims to further understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern how an animal ages using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model system.

Scientific Inspiration

During my career, I have been inspired by individuals who use their platforms to mentor and support more junior scientists as they develop – a good example is Prof. Dame Carol Robinson who champions women in science.

Research Groups

Cells & Development

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: Supportive, inclusive, student-centred

Provision of Training

We take a team approach to training new members of the lab – myself and the post doc/PhD students in the lab will all help you settle in and train you in the techniques that we use.

Progression Monitoring and Management

During the initial stages of your PhD, I will be here to guide you and get you started on your PhD journey. As the project progresses and you become more confident, you will take more ownership of your progression, keeping me up to date on a regular basis and seeking assistance for troubleshooting when needed.

Communication

The team are in regular contact via ‘Slack’ to keep everyone in the loop about lab matters. I will also email members of the lab to highlight interesting papers & seminars or just to check in. Regular communication with the group is important but so is work/life balance – while I sometimes work unusual hours, you are not expected to reply to emails/messages outside of your normal working day.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting

At least once per week

In year 1 of PhD study

At least once per week

In year 2 of PhD study

At least once per week

In year 3 of PhD study

At least once per week

These meetings will be a mixture of face to face or via video chat or telephone – whichever is the easiest! I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Work Pattern

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings), I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week’s notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

Project Details

Dr Slack is the supervisor on the below projects:

Cell signalling control of metabolic homeostasis

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Andres Pires da Silva

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Research Themes: Integrated Understanding of Health (Diet and Health)

Apply here!

Deadline: 23 May, 2024

Project Outline

Maintaining metabolic function is key to lifelong health. Changes in metabolism that disrupt cellular energy balance are now considered causative factors for multiple human diseases including diabetes, cancer and neurodegeneration.

For successful metabolic homeostasis, nutrient intake must be coordinated to the energy demands of the organism across multiple tissues of the body. Such signals are coordinated through highly conserved cell signalling networks, the concerted actions of which are essential to produce a balanced phenotypic response to changes in the nutritional environment. Yet many of these signals and their downstream targets remain poorly understood.

The core metabolic pathways that regulate energy homeostasis have been remarkably well conserved through evolution not only at the molecular level but also at the level of physiological output. For example, the highly conserved insulin/IGF-like signalling (IIS) pathway functions across diverse species to orchestrate the allocation of nutrients amongst different tissues to coordinate growth, metabolism and cellular maintenance. However, the cellular mechanisms by which this is achieved are not well understood. In this project, we will use Drosophila as a model system to study the role of such cell signalling mechanisms in metabolic regulation.

We will use a combination of genetic approaches alongside pharmacological inhibitors (where available) to manipulate the activity of key cell signalling nodes within the IIS pathway. We will then test how changes in signalling modulate the physiological responses to dietary changes and elucidate their downstream targets. Identifying the molecular mechanisms that drive metabolic homeostasis will be a key focus of this research. Other techniques used in the project may include gene expression analysis by qRT-PCR, behavioural assays, immunohistochemistry & confocal microscopy.

References

Laskovs M, Partridge L, Slack C. Molecular inhibition of RAS signalling to target ageing and age-related health (2022). Disease Models & Mechanisms 15 (10): dmm049627.

Slack C, Alic N, Foley A, Hoddinott M, Cabecinha M, Partidge L (2015). The Ras-Erk-ETS pathway is a drug target for longevity. Cell 62:72-83.

Slack C and Partridge L (2013) Genes, pathways and metabolism in ageing. Drug Discovery Today: Disease Models 10: e87-e93.

Techniques

Genetic manipulations using transgenic technologies in Drosophila.
Drosophila physiological and behavioural analyses e.g. survival assays.
Gene expression analysis by quantitative real-time PCR.
Molecular biology e.g. PCR, cloning, genomic engineering.
Immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy

Sexual dimorphisms in ageing

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Ioannis Nezis

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Research Themes: Integrated Understanding of Health (Ageing)

Apply here!

Deadline: 23 May, 2024

Project Outline

Sex is a key determinant of almost all aspects of animal physiology. Fundamental biological differences between males and females result in sexually dimorphic responses across a diverse array of phenotypes including ageing. Furthermore, sex impacts on the pathogenesis of most, if not all, diseases, including those commonly associated with ageing including obesity, diabetes, cancers and neurodegeneration. Yet despite the prevalence of sexual dimorphisms on phenotype, sex has historically been ignored in basic and preclinical research and so the underlying mechanisms that lead to many sex-specific effects are not well understood. As such, there is an urgent priority to redress this gap in the knowledge particularly where sex differences could impact on clinical outcomes.

The fruit-fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a well-established and powerful model for the in vivo study of genes that influence ageing. As a sexually dimorphic species, we will use Drosophila to further understand how sex differences impact on lifespan and age-related physiology with a particular focus on cellular metabolism.

We have identified several key metabolic processes that differ between males and females. We will now use genetic tools to manipulate their activity and test whether these sex-specific differences in cellular metabolism are related to sexually dimorphic lifespan responses. Other techniques used in the project will include gene expression analysis by qRT-PCR, behavioural assays, immunohistochemistry & confocal microscopy. These studies will reveal fundamental new insights into how metabolic systems are co-ordinately yet differentially regulated in the two sexes helping us to better understand the complex relationship between sex, cellular metabolism and ageing.

References

Laskovs M, Partridge L, Slack C. Molecular inhibition of RAS signalling to target ageing and age-related health (2022). Disease Models & Mechanisms 15 (10): dmm049627.

Slack C, Alic N, Foley A, Hoddinott M, Cabecinha M, Partidge L (2015). The Ras-Erk-ETS pathway is a drug target for longevity. Cell 62:72-83.

Slack C and Partridge L (2013) Genes, pathways and metabolism in ageing. Drug Discovery Today: Disease Models 10: e87-e93.

Techniques

Genetic manipulations using transgenic technologies in Drosophila.
Drosophila physiological and behavioural analyses e.g. survival assays.
Gene expression analysis by quantitative real-time PCR.
Molecular biology e.g. PCR, cloning, genomic engineering.
Immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy

Dr Slack is also co-supervisor on a project with Dr Andre Pires da Silva.

Previous Projects

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