MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF PHAGOCYTOSIS: HOW DO PATHOGENS SUBVERT THIS PROCESS?
*Unraveling membrane trafficking involved in the phagocytic pathway and its regulation
*How do intracellular bacteria interfere with the host phagocytic system to escape lysosomal degradation?

DO INTRACELLULAR BACTERIA COMMONLY USE SNARE-LIKE PROTEINS TO MANIPULATE THE HOST MEMBRANE FUSION?
*Screening Salmonella and Legionella genomes
*Study the inhibitory effect of potential SNARE-like bacterial proteins

CHARACTERIZATION OF EUKARYOTIC MEMBRANE FUSION MACHINERY
*Identification and characterization of primitive membrane fusion machineries (similar to SNARE proteins)
*Characterization of the specificity of fusion encoded in the SNARE proteins
*Characterization of intramolecular SNARE regulation

STUDY OF THE PHAGOCYTIC MECHANISM IN MAST CELLS, ONE OF THE MAIN PLAYERS IN ALLERGY