Michael N. Hall

Biography

Michael Hall joined the Biozentrum of the University of Basel (Switzerland) in 1987 where he is currently Professor and former Chair of Biochemistry. Dr. Hall is a pioneer in the fields of TOR signaling and cell growth. He discovered the highly conserved, nutrient-activated protein kinase TOR (Target of Rapamycin) in the early 1990's, and subsequently elucidated its role as a central controller of cell growth. His subsequent studies include the discovery of the two structurally and functionally distinct TOR complexes (TORC1 and TORC2) and the description of the two signaling branches mediated by these two complexes. More recently, he demonstrated that mammalian TOR (mTOR) signaling in metabolic organs controls whole body growth and metabolism. As a central controller of growth and metabolism, TOR plays a key role in development and aging, and is implicated in disorders such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Dr. Hall is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, has received numerous awards, including the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2009), the Marcel Benoist Prize for Sciences or Humanities (2012), the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2014), and the Canada Gairdner International Award (2015), and has served on several editorial and scientific advisory boards. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Pasteur Institute (Paris, France) and the University of California, San Francisco.

Research Interest

 Pharmaxceurtical Science