Michael Rust

Michael Rust is Professor at University of Chicago with joint appointments in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, Physics, and the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology. He leads research on biological timekeeping mechanisms.

Research Focus: Investigates circadian rhythms in cyanobacteria using quantitative microscopy and mathematical modeling. Current projects examine how biological oscillators evolve and interface with cellular metabolism.

Key Discoveries: Demonstrated that cyanobacterial circadian clocks synchronize to metabolic signals; revealed temperature compensation mechanisms in minimal protein clocks.

Funding: Supported by NIH R01, Moore Foundation, and Research Corporation grants. Pew Biomedical Scholar (2014).

Laboratory: Develops novel imaging techniques to track single-cell rhythms and protein dynamics over multi-day periods.