Christopher D. Lima

Christopher D. Lima is a Professor and Chair of the Structural Biology Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He holds the Alfred P. Sloan Chair. His research focuses on understanding the structural, biochemical, and functional mechanisms of macromolecules involved in post-translational protein modification by ubiquitin-like proteins (e.g., SUMO) and RNA processing pathways, including co- and post-transcriptional RNA maturation and decay. His lab employs cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), X-ray crystallography, and biochemical reconstitution to study these processes.

Education:

• PhD, 1994, Northwestern University
• BA, 1989, The Ohio State University

Research Interests:

• Structural basis of ubiquitin and SUMO conjugation pathways
• Mechanisms of RNA surveillance and decay by the nuclear exosome
• Role of RNA processing in cell cycle control and disease
• Interactions between RNA helicases and exosome complexes

Awards & Honors:

• Member, National Academy of Sciences (2020)
• Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2017)
• HHMI Investigator (2013)
• Louise and Allston Boyer Young Investigator (2006)

Advising & Grants: Lima mentors numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. His lab has received funding from the NIH, HHMI, and other institutions to support research into RNA processing and ubiquitin pathways. He collaborates widely, including with teams at MSKCC and other academic institutions.

Labs & Teams: The Lima Lab is part of the Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology and the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School. The lab has made groundbreaking contributions to understanding SUMOylation and RNA exosome mechanisms, with key findings published in Nature, Cell, and Science.