Staff Profile

Background

I began my research career as an undergraduate in the lab of of Professor Howard Jacobs (IBT, Finland) where I used transgenic fruit flies to study seizure sensitivity in a model of mitochondrial deafness. 

I completed my PhD at the CRUK Beatson Institute (2014) in the lab of Prof Marcos Vidal, where I used Drosophila to study aspects of epithelial cancer biology.

My research is focused on using fruit flies to build tractable in vivo models of mitochondrial dysfunction that allow investigation of molecular mechanisms and screening of novel therapies. 

Qualifications

2008 MSci Genetics (University of Glasgow, placement year University of Tampere, Institute of Medical Technology)

2014 PhD (Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, University of Glasgow, Prof Marcos Vidal)

 Google Scholar ORCID 

Current Research Focus

Mitochondrial diseases are a group of genetically heterogeneous and progressive disorders which can affect multiple organs. My research is focused on using Drosophila melanogaster also known as the fruit fly to build models of mitochondrial disease that will increase our knowledge of mitochondrial disease pathology and accelerate the identification of novel therapies. 

• Scialò F, Sriram A, Stefanatos R, Spriggs RV, Loh SHY, Miguel Martins L, Sanz A. Mitochondrial complex I derived ROS regulate stress adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster. Redox Biology 2020, 32, 101450.
• Carroll B, Otten E, Manni D, Stefanatos R, Menzies F, Smith G, Jurk D, Kenneth N, Wilkinson S, Passos J, Attems J, Veal E, Teyssou E, Seilhean D, Millecamps S, Eskelinen E-L, Bronowska A, Rubinsztein DC, Sanz A, Korolchuk V. Oxidation of SQSTM1/p62 mediates the link between redox state and protein homeostasis. Nature Communications 2018, 9, 256.
• Stefanatos R, Sanz A. The role of mitochondrial ROS in the aging brain. FEBS Letters 2018, 592(5), 743-758.
• Scialo F, Sriram A, Stefanatos R, Sanz A. Practical Recommendations for the Use of the GeneSwitch Gal4 System to Knock-Down Genes in Drosophila melanogaster. Plos One 2016, 11(8), e0161817.
• Parisi F, Stefanatos RK, Strathdee K, Yu Y, Vidal M. Transformed epithelia trigger a non-tissue autonomous tumor suppressor response by adipocytes via activation of Toll and Eiger/TNF signaling. Cell Reports 2014, 6(5), 855-867.
• Stefanatos RK, Bauer C, Vidal M. p120 Catenin Is Required for the Stress Response in Drosophila. PLoS ONE 2013, 8(12), e83942.
• Lourenço FC, Munro J, Brown J, Cordero J, Stefanatos R, Strathdee K, Orange C, Feller SM, Sansom OJ, Vidal M, Murray GI, Olson MF. Reduced LIMK2 expression in colorectal cancer reflects its role in limiting stem cell proliferation. Gut 2013. In Preparation.
• Scialo F, Mallikarjun V, Stefanatos R, Sanz A. Regulation of lifespan by the mitochondrial electron transport chain: reactive oxygen species-dependent and reactive oxygen species-independent mechanisms. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling 2013, 19, 1953-1969.
• Stefanatos R, Sriram A, Kiviranta E, Mohan A, Ayala V, Jacobs HT, Pamplona R, Sanz A. dj-1β regulates oxidative stress, insulin-like signaling and development in Drosophila melanogaster. Cell Cycle 2012, 15, 3876-86.
• Cordero JB, Stefanatos RKA, Scopelliti A, Vidal M, Sansom OJ. Inducible progenitor-derived Wingless regulates adult midgut regeneration in Drosophila. EMBO 2012.
• Cordero JB, Stefanatos RKA, Myant K, Vidal M, Sansom OJ. Non-autonomous crosstalk between the Jak/Stat and Egfr pathways mediates Apc1-driven intestinal stem cell hyperplasia in the Drosophila adult midgut. Development 2012.
• Stefanatos R, Sanz A. Mitochondrial complex I: A central regulator of the aging process. Cell Cycle 2011, 10(10), 1528-1532.
• Stefanatos RKA, Vidal M. Tumor invasion and metastasis in Drosophila: a bold past, a bright future. Journal of Genetics and Genomics 2011.
• Sanz A, Soikkeli M, Portero-Otin M, Wilson A, Kemppainen E, McIlroy G, Ellila S, Kemppainen KK, Tuomela T, Lakanmaa M, Kiviranta E, Stefanatos R, Dufour E, Hutz B, Naudi A, Jove M, Zeb A, Vartiainen S, Matsuno-Yagi A, Yagi T, Rustin P, Pamplona R, Jacobs HT. Expression of the yeast NADH dehydrogenase Ndi1 in Drosophila confers increased lifespan independently of dietary restriction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2010, 107, 9105-9110.
• Sanz A, Fernandez-Ayala DJ, Stefanatos RK, Jacobs HT. Mitochondrial ROS production correlates with, but does not directly regulate lifespan in Drosophila. Aging (Albany NY) 2010, 2, 200-23.
• Cordero JB, Macagno J, Stefanatos RKA, Strathdee K, Cagan R, Vidal M. Oncogenic Ras diverts a host TNF tumor suppressor activity into tumor promoter. Developmental Cell 2010.
• Sanz A, Stefanatos R, McIlroy G. Production of reactive oxygen species by the mitochondrial electron transport chain in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes 2010, 42.
• Braida C, Stefanatos RKA, Adam B, Mahajan N, Smeets HJM, Niel F, Goizet C, Arveiler B, Koenig M, Lagier-Tourenne C, Mandel JL, Faber CG, deDie-Smulders CEM, Spaans F, Monckton DG. Variant CCG and GGC repeats within the CTG expansion dramatically modify mutational dynamics and likely contribute toward unusual symptoms in some myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients. Human molecular genetics 2010. In Preparation.
• Sanz A, Stefanatos RK. The mitochondrial free radical theory of aging: a critical view. Current Aging Science 2008, 1, 10-21.