Evripidis Gavathiotis

Evripidis Gavathiotis is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Department of Medicine (Cardiology), and Department of Oncology (Medical Oncology) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He also serves as Co-Leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research focuses on mechanisms of cell death and survival, including apoptosis, mitochondrial dynamics, and autophagy, with a particular emphasis on BCL-2 family proteins and kinase signaling. His laboratory develops first-in-class small molecules for drug discovery, targeting diseases like cancer, neurodegeneration, and chemotherapy-induced toxicity.

Key contributions include elucidating BAX activation mechanisms, identifying allosteric sites on proteins such as BAX and BRAF, and creating small molecules that modulate mitochondrial fusion/fission and chaperone-mediated autophagy. These efforts have led to preclinical models demonstrating efficacy in cancers (AML, melanoma, pancreatic cancer) and neurodegenerative diseases. Gavathiotis employs integrative approaches combining chemical biology, structural biology, and computational methods to discover novel drug targets and therapeutics.

His laboratory’s work has produced prototypes advancing toward Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, with a focus on overcoming drug resistance and enhancing therapeutic specificity. The interdisciplinary team specializes in drug design, high-throughput screening, and in vivo pharmacology, bridging fundamental biology with translational medicine.

Recent studies highlight mechanisms of resistance to BH3 mimetics in AML, mitochondrial dynamics in cancer, and the role of chaperone-mediated autophagy in neuronal proteostasis. Ongoing efforts explore repurposing FDA-approved drugs for novel targets, such as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals.