Ben Montpetit

Ben Montpetit is a Principal Investigator at the University of California, Davis, in the Department of Viticulture & Enology. His research focuses on gene expression regulation in yeast, particularly mRNA export mechanisms, nuclear pore complex dynamics, and DEAD-box proteins like Dbp5. He holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia (2007) and conducted postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley and the University of British Columbia. Prior to UC Davis, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta’s Department of Cell Biology.

His work integrates molecular biology, cell biology, and biophysics to study RNA processing pathways, with applications in understanding yeast biology and winemaking. Key interests include the interplay between SUMOylation, nuclear envelope biogenesis, and mitosis. His lab develops advanced imaging techniques, such as refractive index-matched media for live-cell microscopy, to visualize RNA-protein complexes in yeast.

Recent studies address tRNA export mechanisms, mRNA-protein complex composition, and nuclear pore basket assembly linked to mRNA export. He secured an NSF-MCB/BSF grant (2022) for stoichiometry studies of mRNA-protein complexes. His research bridges fundamental cell biology with applied viticulture, analyzing Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene expression during wine fermentation at industrial scales.