University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Jeffrey Brodsky is the Avinoff Professor of Biological Sciences and the Director of the Center for Protein Conformational Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, and he holds a secondary appointment in the School of Medicine. Dr. Brodsky received his Ph.D. at Harvard University and performed post-doctoral research at the University of California-Berkeley with Randy Schekman prior to joining the faculty at Pittsburgh in 1994. His research focuses on understanding: (1) how misfolded proteins are recognized and destroyed in the cell, (2) how molecular chaperones mediate protein quality control “decisions”, (3) how cellular stress responses affect protein biogenesis and homeostasis, and (4) how defects in disease-associated protein folding and stress responses might be corrected with drugs. These questions reside at the heart of understanding why mutations in CFTR compromise protein integrity and function, how cystic fibrosis arises as a reside of CFTR defects, and how one day this disease might be cured. The pursuit of these goals has employed biochemical, cell biological, computational, and genetic tools using a range of models, including yeast, cell culture, and rodents. Early work in the Brodsky lab also contributed to the discovery of the ER associated degradation (ERAD) pathway, and ongoing studies are deciphering the mechanisms underlying ER “proteostasis” and its relationship to some of the ~70 human diseases are associated with ERAD, including cystic fibrosis.
S07--CFTR 2024: Better Understanding of the Underlying CF Disease Mechanism
Thursday, September 26, 2024
2:30 PM – 4:30 PM ET