Fruit flies normally die from sleep loss due to lethal gut inflammation. But a mutant “fumin” fly, which sleeps very little, survives without inflammation. This research investigates how altered dopamine processing protects these flies, offering insight into why sleep is essential and how sleep loss contributes to disease.

My research investigates tiny particles released by metastatic cancer cells—messengers that help cancer hide from the immune system. By capturing and analysing these particles, the study aims to uncover how they evade detection and to develop new strategies that “teach” the immune system to recognise and neutralise them, leading to safer, more effective cancer therapies.