Molecular Cell Biology

Harvey Lodish is Professor of Biology and Professor of Bioengineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Dr. Lodish is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was President (2004) of the American Society for Cell Biology. He is well known for his work on cell membrane physiology, particularly the biosynthesis of many cell-surface proteins, and on the cloning and functional analysis of several cell-surface receptor proteins, such as the erythropoietin and TGF-ß receptors. His lab also studies hematopoietic stem cells and has identified novel proteins that support their proliferation. Dr. Lodish teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in cell biology and biotechnology. Arnold Berk is Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics and a member of the Molecular Biology Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Berk is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is one of the original discoverers of RNA splicing and of mechanisms for gene control in viruses. His laboratory studies the molecular interactions that regulate transcription nitiation in mammalian cells, focusing particular attention on transcription factors encoded by oncogenes and tumor suppressors. He teaches introductory courses in molecular biology and virology and an advanced course in cell biology of the nucleus. Monty Krieger is the Whitehead Professor in the Department of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For his innovative teaching of undergraduate biology and human physiology as well as graduate cell biology courses, he has received numerous awards. His laboratory has made contributions to our understanding of membrane trafficking through the Golgi apparatus and has cloned and characterized receptor proteins important for the movement of cholesterol into and out of cells, including the HDL receptor. Anthony Bretscher is Professor of Cell Biology at Cornell University. His laboratory is well known for identifying and characterizing new components of the actin cytoskeleton, and elucidating their biological functions in relation to cell polarity and membrane traffic. For this work, his laboratory exploits biochemical, genetic and cell biological approaches in two model systems, vertebrate epithelial cells and the budding yeast. Dr. Bretscher teaches cell biology to graduate students at Cornell University. Hidde Ploegh is Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. One of the world’s leading researchers in immune system behavior, Dr. Ploegh studies the various tactics that viruses employ to evade our immune responses, and the ways in which our immune system distinguishes friend from foe. Dr. Ploegh teaches immunology to undergraduate students at Harvard University and MIT. Kelsey Martin is Professor of Biological Chemistry and Psychiatry and interim Dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the former Chair of the Biological Chemistry Department  Her laboratory studies the ways in which experience changes connections between neurons in the brain to store long-term memories—a process known as synaptic plasticity. She has made important contributions to elucidating the molecular and cell biological mechanisms that underlie this process. Dr. Martin teaches basic principles of neuroscience to undergraduates, graduate students, dental students, and medical students.