Jorge Z. Torres

Jorge Z. Torres is a Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. His research focuses on mitotic spindle formation, ubiquitin ligases, and small molecule targeting for cancer therapy.

• Academic affiliation: UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
• Research areas: Cell division, Systems biology, Chemical biology

Research Interests:
The Torres lab investigates mitotic spindle assembly mechanisms, disease-linked ubiquitin ligases, and chemical screens for cell division inhibitors. Key work includes proteomic analyses of spindle proteins, characterization of microtubule-associated enzymes, and development of software tools like CANVS for interaction data visualization.

Publication Trends:
Recent articles emphasize spindle assembly regulation (2025), cilia length modulation (2024), and biochemical mechanisms of ubiquitination (2023). Earlier work covers phospho-regulation (2020), phase separation (2020), and comprehensive reviews on katanin family proteins (2021) and Plk1 inhibition strategies.

Lab Activities:
The lab develops chemical inhibitors (e.g., MI-181, Leusin-1) using virtual screening and pharmacophore modeling. Techniques include human cell lines, in vitro systems, and multi-omics approaches to map protein interactions and drug effects.