Signalling and Trafficking of Receptors in Metabolism Laboratory

The Signalling and Trafficking of Receptors in Metabolism (STRiM) Laboratory focuses on the study of the spatiotemporal regulation of signalling of receptors in pancreatic islets and other metabolically relevant tissues such as the liver and the brain.

We are particularly interested in the glucagon family of G protein-coupled receptors, to investigate how alterations in their signalling can contribute to the development of diabetes, as well as to find ways to manipulate these processes in order to provide novel and/or improved treatment options for the disease.

Our research extends over a number of fields, including gut hormone endocrinology, functional genomics, intracellular membrane trafficking, islet cell biology, and pathophysiology of diabetes and obesity. To tackle our scientific questions, we carry out investigations using in vitro cell systems, ex vivo tissues and in vivo model organisms, and biochemical, molecular cell biology, and high-resolution microscopy techniques.

We work in tight collaboration with a number of laboratories from Imperial College London and beyond. Our laboratory is funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council (MRC), Diabetes UK (DUK), the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) and the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, as well as by industry funding from pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries. The laboratory is led by Dr Alejandra Tomas, a Reader and Head of Section of Cell Biology and Functional Genomics.