Monday, September 16th, 2024 - 11:15 - Baltzerstrasse 4, Room C161
Prof. Robbie Loewith | Department of Molecular Biology & Cellular biology | University of Geneva | "TOR signaling in high resolution"
Robbie Loewith received his bachelor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/Genetics in 1994 from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada). His PhD thesis – describing a novel tumor suppressor – was conducted at the Cancer Institute of Southern Alberta, in Dallan Young ‘s lab. He was granted his PhD degree in 2000 from the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada). In 2005, following post-doctoral studies on the control of cell growth and in the laboratory of Michael Hall at the Biozentrum, University of Basle, Robbie Loewith joined the department of Molecular Biology of the University of Geneva as a project leader. In 2006, he was awarded an SNSF professorship, in 2008 an ERC Starting grant and in 2014 an ERC Consolidator grant. Today, Robbie Loewith is Full Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology & Cellular biology.
His lab uses S. cerevisiae to investigate the structures, functions and regulation of the two, broadly conserved, target of rapamycin (TOR) protein complexes. They use a combination of yeast genetics, cell biology, structural biology, chemical biology and biochemistry approaches and are particularly interested in how TOR complexes form higher order helical structures and how they are regulated downstream of mechanical changes in membrane tension.
Robbie Loewith was a project leader of the NCCR Chemical Biology (2010-2022) and the Director of the NCCR (2021-2022). He is an elected EMBO member since 2021 and the President of the SNE Chemical Biology (2023 – 2025).
