Research Bio
Alessandra Ferrari studies how cells traffic and sense cholesterol and other lipids, and how these processes go awry in metabolic disease. Her group combines cell biology, biochemistry, and quantitative imaging to map non?vesicular transport routes between the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum, identify the proteins that mediate lipid transfer, and determine how nutritional cues regulate these pathways. By defining the molecular logic of cholesterol homeostasis, her work illuminates mechanisms that contribute to cardiometabolic disorders and suggests targets for therapeutic intervention. Ferrari’s publications have helped reveal how Aster proteins facilitate cholesterol movement and how lipid flux integrates with broader metabolic signaling.
Ferrari is an Assistant Professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology. She leads a cross?disciplinary lab focused on lipid trafficking in physiology and disease. Her expertise is lipid metabolism and intracellular cholesterol transport, emphasizing how cells maintain membrane composition and metabolic balance.
Lipid metabolism and trafficking, intestinal physiology, metabolic disorders. Lipids are integral components of cellular membranes. Membrane lipids exhibit significant heterogeneity, with their composition and distribution differing across organisms, cell types, organelles, membrane layers, bilayer leaflets, and membrane subdomains. The lipidome profile of subcellular organelles can rapidly adapt to changes in the cell cycle state or nutritional availability in a context-dependent manner. Abnormal lipid distribution is linked to numerous diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. Dynamic changes in organellar lipid composition are driven by a complex network of processes, including lipid synthesis, metabolism, and intracellular trafficking. Membrane lipid flow is mediated by both transport vesicles and non-vesicular transfer proteins at membrane contact sites. However, a complete characterization of the lipid profile in each organelle under physiological and pathological conditions remains elusive. Similarly, the mechanisms underlying lipid transport systems are not yet fully understood. Identifying novel players in these processes could provide critical insights into the regulation of lipid homeostasis. The lab's goal is to elucidate how membrane lipid remodeling and intracellular redistribution determine cell function in physiological and pathological contexts. Current research projects focus on understanding how non-vesicular lipid transport influences dietary cholesterol absorption, intestinal biology, and whole-body lipid metabolism. To achieve these objectives, the lab integrates a multidisciplinary approach, combining biochemistry, cell biology, gene editing, lipidomics, proteomics, and physiological studies. This comprehensive strategy aims to uncover new mechanisms of "lipid membrane editing" mediated by intracellular lipid transport, offering novel and tractable targets for treating metabolic disorders and lipid-related diseases.
