Alexander Van Der Bliek
Professor
Biological Chemistry
University of California los Angeles
United States of America
Biography
Dr. van der Bliek studied Biology as an undergraduate at the University of Amsterdam. In 1988 he obtained a Ph.D. for studies of multidrug resistance and gene amplification in mammalian cells. These studies were conducted at the Netherlands Cancer Institute under supervision of Dr. Piet Borst. Dr. van der Bliek then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Elliot Meyerowitz at Cal Tech. While there, Dr. van der Bliek discovered the role of dynamin in endocytosis, first in Drosophila and then in mammalian cells (collaboration with Dr. Sandra Schmid at Scripps). In early 1993, Dr. van der Bliek joined the Department of Biological Chemistry at UCLA where his laboratory has maintained an interest in membrane biology with a focus on the cell biological functions of dynamin family members. The lab initially studied the roles of classic dynamins in C. elegans and mammalian cells.
Research Interest
Cell Biological Studies of Mitochondria in Health and Disease
Publications
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Van der Bliek, A. M. Fussy mitochondria fuse in response to stress, EMBO J, 2009; 28: 1533-4.
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van der Bliek Alexander M, Payne Gregory S Dynamin subunit interactions revealed Developmental cell, 2010; 18(5): 687-8.
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Head Brian P, Zulaika Miren, Ryazantsev Sergey, van der Bliek Alexander M A novel mitochondrial outer membrane protein, MOMA-1, that affects cristae morphology in Caenorhabditis elegans Molecular biology of the cell, 2011; 22(6): 831-41.
