معرفی
Susan Baserga, MD, PhD, is the William H. Fleming, M.D. Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Professor of Genetics and of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale University School of Medicine. She maintains primary appointments in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry with secondary appointments in Genetics and Therapeutic Radiology, reflecting her interdisciplinary research focus.
Her research centers on ribosome biogenesis, with particular emphasis on RNA helicases required for ribosome assembly and their cofactors. Dr. Baserga investigates the role of ribosome biogenesis in cell cycle regulation, the architecture of the SSU processome, and the direct protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions that mediate ribosomal assembly. Her laboratory employs innovative approaches including cryo-electron microscopy, genetic and biochemical methods, and proteomics techniques to visualize pre-ribosomes and characterize protein motifs involved in rRNA processing.
Dr. Baserga's research has revealed connections between ribosome biogenesis and diverse cellular processes including embryonic development, neurodegenerative diseases, cytoskeletal integrity, and DNA repair. Her recent publications demonstrate how ribosome assembly factors link rRNA transcription to pre-rRNA processing, how nucleolar structure connects with global nuclear organization, and how microRNA mimics can repress ribosome biogenesis.
- William C. Rose Award (2016)
- Bohmfalk Scholar in Medical Research (2014-2015)
- Charles W. Bohmfalk Prize for basic science teaching (2014)
- Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2024)
- Elected to National Academy of Medicine (2023)
Dr. Baserga mentors a diverse team of researchers including postdoctoral associates like Emily Sutton who recently received a NIGMS F32 Fellowship. Her laboratory welcomes undergraduates, post-bacs, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and visiting faculty interested in ribosome biogenesis research. The lab maintains strong collaborations with researchers across Yale and beyond, as evidenced by her frequent co-publications with colleagues in genetics, dermatology, and developmental biology.
Through her leadership of the Baserga lab at Yale, she has established a research environment that values scientific excellence, camaraderie, curiosity, and collaboration while advancing our understanding of fundamental cellular processes with implications for human disease.
