Lois Weisman Lab

We seek to understand essential cellular processes — using cultured neurons, cell lines and yeast — in order to shed new light on neurodegeneration, cancer and other diseases.
 

Our Research

The Weisman lab uses cultured neurons, cell lines and yeast to study neurodegeneration and cancer, with the goal of determining the mechanisms of myosin V based transport and phosphoinositide signaling. The ultimate goal is to develop novel therapies for relevant diseases.

Our group uses aspects of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and developmental biology to discover how cells function.

Lois Weisman, Ph.D.

Sarah Winans Newman Collegiate Professor in the Life Sciences
Research Professor, U-M Life Science Institute
Professor, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, U-M Medical School

Publication Highlights

Recruitment of the SNX17-Retriever recycling pathway regulates synaptic function and plasticity

Rivero-Ríos P, Tsukahara T, Uygun T, Chen A, Chavis GD, Giridharan SSP, Iwase S, Sutton MA, Weisman LS, J Cell Bio (2023)

Upregulation of the ESCRT pathway and multivesicular bodies accelerates degradation of proteins associated with neurodegeneration

Benyair R, Giridharan SSP, Rivero-Ríos P, Hasegawa J, Bristow E, Eskelinen EL, Shmueli MD, Fishbain-Yoskovitz V, Merbl Y, Sharkey LM, Paulson HL, Hanson PI, Patnaik S, Al-Ramahi I, Botas J, Marugan J, Weisman LSAutophagy Rep (2023)

Bur1 functions with TORC1 for vacuole-mediated cell cycle progression

Jin Y, Jin N, Oikawa Y, Benyair R, Koizumi M, Wilson TE, Ohsumi Y, Weisman LS,  EMBO (2022)

PP2A-dependent TFEB activation is blocked by PIKfyve-induced mTORC1 activity

Hasegawa J, Tokuda E, Yao Y, Sasaki T, Inoki K, Weisman LSMol Biol Cell (2022) 

Lipid kinases VPS34 and PIKfyve coordinate a phosphoinositide cascade to regulate retriever-mediated recycling on endosomes

Giridharan SSP, Luo G, Rivero-Rios P, Steinfeld N, Tronchere H, Singla A, Burstein E, Billadeau DD, Sutton MA, Weisman LS, Elife. (2022)

Elevating PI3P drives select downstream membrane trafficking pathways.

Steinfeld N, Lahiri V, Morrison A, Metur SP, Klionsky DJ, Weisman LS,  Mol Biol Cell (2021)

Cargo release from myosin V requires the convergence of parallel pathways that phosphorylate and ubiquitylate the cargo adaptor

Wong S, Hepowit NL, Port SA, Yau RG, Peng Y, Azad N, Habib A, Harpaz N, Schuldiner M, Hughson FM, MacGurn HA, Weisman LSCurrent Biol (2020)

Roles for a lipid phosphatase in the activation of its opposing lipid kinase

Strunk, B.S, Steinfeld, N, Lee, S., Jin, N., Akemann, C., MacGurn, J.A, Mapp, A.K., Weisman, L.S, Roles for a lipid phosphatase in the activation of its opposing lipid kinase.” Mol Biol Cell (2020)

Inhibition of PIP4Kγ ameliorates the pathological effects of mutant huntingtin protein

Al-Ramahi I, Giridharan SSP, Chen YC, Patnaik S, Safren N, Hasegawa J, de Haro M, Wagner Gee AK, Titus SA, Jeong H, Clarke J, Krainc D, Zheng W, Irvine RF, Barmada S, Ferrer M, Southall N, Weisman LS, Botas J, Marugan JJ, Elife (2017)

Room 6382
Life Sciences Institute
Mary Sue Coleman Hall
210 Washtenaw Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2216

There will come a time when you believe everyone is finished; that will be the beginning.

Louis L’Amour