Andreas Martin

Andreas Martin is a Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of the 26S proteasome, a central regulator of cellular protein degradation. His lab investigates how this complex machinery recognizes, unfolds, and degrades ubiquitinated substrates, with particular emphasis on ATP-dependent translocation, mechanochemical coupling, and deubiquitination processes.

Key research areas include understanding how the proteasome's AAA+ ATPase subunits coordinate substrate processing, the role of ubiquitin signaling in timing degradation events, and the structural dynamics enabling conformational changes during proteolysis. The lab employs biochemical assays, spectroscopic methods, and structural biology approaches to study these processes, with applications to disease-related proteostasis failures (e.g., cancer, neurodegeneration).

• Affiliations: Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, QB3 Institute, Berkeley MCB Graduate Program, Biophysics Graduate Group, Chemical Biology Program
• Laboratory: 570 Stanley Hall, Berkeley
• Key Projects: Substrate translocation mechanisms, ubiquitin-Rpn11 interactions, and proteasome-inhibiting drug development

Scientific contributions include defining how pore loops in AAA+ motors drive substrate translocation and identifying key regulatory roles for deubiquitinases like Rpn11. His work bridges basic mechanistic studies with translational insights into proteasome-targeted therapies.