Michael J. Ragusa

Michael J. Ragusa is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Dartmouth College, specializing in molecular mechanisms of selective autophagy. His research integrates structural biology, biochemical reconstitution, and cell biology to understand how cells degrade toxic components like damaged organelles.

• Education: B.S. in Chemistry from Siena College, Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brown University

His work focuses on autophagy, particularly the role of Atg proteins in membrane tethering and cargo selection. His lab has published extensively on mitophagy, ALFY, and Atg11, linking defects in these pathways to cancer, neurodegeneration, and infectious diseases. Recent studies highlight mechanisms of vesicle clustering and dimerization-dependent membrane interactions.

Dr. Ragusa teaches courses such as CHEM 5: General Chemistry, CHEM 42: Biological Chemistry II, and CHEM 95.05: Protein Crystallography. His lab employs techniques like X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and membrane reconstitution to dissect protein-lipid interactions.