Mito funding kicks off PhD career after 15 years as a research assistant

Nissa Carrodus has trained countless students in the ways of the lab over her 15 years as a research assistant.

Now she’s starting a PhD of her own.

With the support of her colleagues at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) - and backing from the country’s leading mitochondrial disease foundation - Nissa is starting down the path of academia to find new answers for a deadly disease.

Previously a research assistant with BASE mRNA Facility deputy director Dr Seth Cheetham, she is now a PhD scholar within the same group, and will work for the next three years to unlock the mysteries of Mitochondrial Neuro-Gastro-Intestinal Encephalomyopathy (MNGIE). 

In MNGIE patients, the enzyme Thymidine Phosphorylase (TYMP) is affected by mutations, which can lead to considerable digestive system impairments, including vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and malnutrition.

“And this disease is fatal,” Nissa says.

“The majority of patients die by the age of 40, which is quite scary.”

Nissa’s PhD will run in tandem with a MNGIE project led by University of Cambridge Neurologist Dr Jelle van den Ameele and Dr Cheetham for the UK-based Lily Foundation.

The objective of the MNGIE project is to obtain first proof-of-concept data for TYMP mRNA-based liver-targeted gene therapy, by testing biochemical efficacy in a genetic MNGIE mouse model.

“The current treatment for MNGIE is a liver transplant, which might alleviate symptoms but can also be risky in other ways,” Nissa said.

“Instead, if we can deliver mRNA that will produce the enzyme we need to the liver then we can alleviate the symptoms in a way that is much less invasive and will not require a transplant.”

Nissa’s work on the MNGIE project will be supported by a $5000 annual top up scholarship and travel allowance awarded by Australia’s Mito Foundation, which will allow her to check in with her collaborators in the UK.

Nissa said any nerves at starting a thesis were sidelined by the knowledge she will be studying and contributing to a field that she is particularly passionate about.

“I hope that I’m a good example to the other students in my lab, to show them that it is possible, that you can do it and retrain,” she said.