Australian scientists solve enduring mystery about diseases driven by uncontrolled cell growth, including cancer and epilepsy

L-R: Associate Professor Michelle Halls and Professor Andrew Ellisdon.

09 January 2026

For the first time, scientists have answered a longstanding question in cell biology about a partnership of proteins called the “KICSTOR–GATOR1 complex” which operate as a control system inside our cells, telling them when to grow and when to stop based on nutrient availability (especially amino acids).

The Monash University study, published in the prestigious journal Cell, used an ultra powerful imaging method called cryo-EM to reveal at near-atomic detail that KICSTOR positions GATOR1 so it can “switch off” cell growth when nutrients run low, helping the cell conserve resources.

The discovery provides a potentially transformative new window into understanding how our body’s cells control growth, respond to stress, and what might go wrong in diseases where this system breaks down, including cancers, metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

Co-lead author of the study, Associate Professor Michelle Halls from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), said this pivotal scientific moment could help determine how to prevent the body’s cells from entering an unregulated growth mode. Co-lead author of the study Professor Andrew Ellisdon, from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI), said the findings fill a critical knowledge gap.

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