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Dr. Lindquist is also Member and former Director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Associate Member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Prior to this she was Albert D. Lasker Professor of Medical Sciences in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago. She received her undergraduate degree in microbiology from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University.

RESEARCH ABSTRACT SUMMARY:

Susan Lindquist's pioneering work in protein folding has demonstrated that alternative protein conformations have profound and unexpected effects in fields as wide ranging as human disease, evolution, and biomaterials. Her work on yeast prions has provided evidence for a mechanism of protein-only inheritance and contributed to a structural understanding of amyloid fiber formation. She has shown that molecular chaperones can influence the expression and evolution of new traits by chaperoning the folding of key players in signal transduction pathways. Her group has also developed yeast models to study protein-folding transitions in neurodegenerative diseases and to test therapeutic strategies.

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Photo: Justin Knight

The Surprising World of Protein Folding

AT HHMI

Lindquist and Benkovic to Receive National Medal of Science
(10.15.10)

A Silver Lining

Bridging the Gap
(02.24.09)

2008 HHMI Collaborative Innovation Award

Researchers Identify Key Elements Controlling Prion Formation
(05.11.07)

Yeast For Thought

Parkinson’s Disease Mechanism Discovered
(06.22.06)

The Synapse Revealed

Accomplished Women

Clearing Toxic Clumps from the Brain

Yeast Prions Spur Generation of New Traits
(09.27.00)

New Model Suggests How Prions Take Shape
(08.24.00)

Proteins Can Transmit Heritable Traits
(01.27.00)

Proteins Harbor A Shocking Tale of Evolution
(11.26.98)

ON THE WEB

The Lindquist Lab
(mit.edu)

Susan Lindquist iBioseminar Lectures: I. Protein Folding and Prions; II. Prions and Evolution
(ibioseminars.org)