Saskia Neher, PhD

HONORS & AWARDS:

• Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fellow Fund,  2006 - 2009

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

My lab seeks to better understand the maturation and regulation of a group of human lipases. We aim to uncover how these lipases properly fold and exit the ER, and how their activity is subsequently regulated. We study the membrane-bound and secreted proteins that play a role in lipase regulation. Our research can potentially impact human health as biochemical deficiencies in lipase activity can cause hypertriglyceridemia and associated disorders, such as diabetes and atherosclerosis. We are an interdisciplinary lab and aim to address these questions using a variety of techniques, including membrane protein biochemistry, enzymology, and structural and molecular biology.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

• Doolittle MH, Neher SB, Ben-Zeev O, Ling-liao O, Gallagher CM, Hosseini M, Yin F, Wong H, Walter P, Péterfy M. Lipase maturation factor 1 (LMF1): membrane topology and interaction with lipase proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. JBC Nov. 2009; 284(48):33623-33
• Bradshaw N*, Neher SB*, Booth DA, Walter, P. Signal sequences activate the catalytic switch of SRP RNA Science, 2009 Jan; 323(5910): 127-30. *equal contribution
• Neher SB*, Bradshaw N*, Floor S, Gross JD, Walter P. SRP RNA controls a conformational switch regulating the SRP-SRP receptor interaction. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 2008, Sept; 15(9): 916-23. *equal contribution
• Pruteanu M, Neher SB, Baker TA. Ligand-controlled proteolysis of the Escherichia coli transcriptional regulator ZntR. J Bacteriol. 2007 Apr;189(8):3017-25
• Neher SB, Villen J, Oakes EC, Bakalarski CE, Sauer RT, Gygi SP, Baker TA. Proteomic profiling of ClpXP substrates following DNA damage reveals extensive instability within SOS regulon. Mol Cell. 2006 Apr 21;22(2):193-204

CONTACT INFO:

120 Mason Farm Rd,
Campus Box # 7260
3113 Genetic Medicine
Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Office: 919-966-9550
Lab: 919-843-5865

neher@email.unc.edu

Lab Location: 3023C Genetic Med