Tania A. Baker

Tania A. Baker is the E. C. Whitehead Professor of Biology at MIT's Department of Biology and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research focuses on AAA+ unfoldases and Clp/Hsp100 family proteases, exploring their roles in protein degradation and cellular stress responses. She holds a PhD from Stanford University (1988) and a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1983).

Her research employs biochemistry, structural biology, genetics, and single-molecule biophysics. Notable achievements include elucidating ClpXP protease mechanisms and FtsH proteolysis pathways. Awards include HHMI Investigator (1994), National Academy of Sciences membership (2007), and American Academy of Arts and Sciences fellowship (2005).

Her lab, led by assistant Tori Yetman, studies protein quality control systems. Recent publications focus on protease assembly dynamics and substrate recognition mechanisms, with key contributions to understanding proteolytic regulation in cellular stress responses.