Nicholas Ktistakis has been a group leader at the Signalling Programme of the Babraham Institute since 1996. He studies lipid signalling and autophagy, with special emphasis on pathways regulated by phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate. Prior to coming to the UK, Dr Ktistakis worked as a post-doc and Instructor at the Biochemistry Department of UT Soutwestern Medical Center in Dallas with Dr Michael Roth, studying signals that direct proteins to different cellular compartments. His work is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.