Dr Pika Miklavc

University of Salford

Biography

I studied Biology at The University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and continued there as a PhD student in the Department of Biology. During my graduate studies I investigated olfactory coding in fish and obtained my PhD in 2005. I then became interested in cellular mechanisms of secretion and moved to Ulm University in Germany as a Marie Curie Fellow of the European Commission in the Research Training Network Pulmonet. There I explored different stages in secretion of lung surfactant, using high-resolution microscopy techniques. 

After conclusion of the Pulmonet programme I continued working in the Medical School of the Ulm University as university assistant in the Institute of General Physiology. In 2013 I acquired Margarete von Wrangell Fellowship from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the Land Baden-Württemberg. With help of this fellowship, I obtained a Habilitation in Physiology, which is a German post-doctoral qualification for teaching in Higher Education. In 2016 I was appointed as Lecturer in Human Physiology at University of Salford. 

“One of the major problems in childhood cancer are negative effects of chemotherapy on developing organs. Among others, childhood cancer treatment causes pulmonary toxicity which accounts for excess mortality risk that is second only to mortality due to subsequent cancers. We need to develop treatment strategies effective against cancer while protecting developing organs in children. Small extracellular vesicles are known to have a protective role in cardiovascular system; however, it is not clear if they can help repair in the lungs. This is something I would like to explore in future.”

Kidscan Funded Research Projects

More About Dr Miklavc

Areas of research

Cell Biology, Lung Physiology, Secretion, Exocytosis, Intracellular Trafficking 

My research focuses on secretory processes in lung epithelial cells. Secretion has a central role in lung physiology and pathophysiology. Secretory cells in the airways release mucins, which help to keep the lungs free of pathogens. In contrast, secretory type II cells of lung alveoli secrete lipo-protein surfactant, which reduces surface tension of the alveolar lining fluid and enables inspiration. These secretory cells use regulated exocytosis, a specialised intracellular vesicular transport process, to release substances in the extracellular space. Secretory materials are stored in intracellular vesicles, which fuse with the plasma membrane upon appropriate stimulation. 

Alveolar type II cells have large secretory vesicles and a particularly slow, sequential fusion process, which makes them an ideal cell model to study single vesicle fusion events in living cells using high-resolution microscopy methods. My research encompasses different stages of exocytosis, with focus on regulation of vesicle content release after fusion pore opening. Especially in the late stages of exocytosis actin cytoskeleton and calcium ions play a pivotal role for exocytosis of large secretory vesicles and secretion of poorly soluble substances. Secretory vesicles in type II cells acquire actin coats after fusion with the plasma membrane. The compression of these coats provides mechanical force to enable surfactant release. In addition, influx of calcium through P2X4 channels localised on surfactant-containing secretory vesicles contributes to fusion pore dilation and efficient surfactant extrusion. 

In addition to investigating basic mechanisms of secretion I am interested in pathological alterations of the secretory mechanisms in lung cells and their implications for lung function. As an example, it is becoming increasingly evident that surfactant deficiency or dysfunction is involved in a range of lung disorders. Deficient surfactant synthesis in prematurely born infants can result in the infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS). In adults, surfactant deficit can lead to pulmonary fibrosis, a poorly understood condition which affects a significant percentage of population and irreparably damages lung tissue 

Qualifications

PhD from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Title of the thesis: Behavioural discrimination of amino acids in zebrafish (Danio rerio). 2005.

Habilitation on Ulm University, Germany. Title of the thesis: Regulation of hemifusion and post-fusion phase of exocytosis in alveolar type II cells. 2015. 

Memberships

The Physiological Society 

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