Matthew Wohlever, PhD

Research in the Wohlever lab is focused on mitochondrial membrane proteostasis. Membrane proteins present unique challenges to the proteostasis network as they must be targeted to the correct membrane and overcome substantial thermodynamic barriers to enter and exit the lipid bilayer, all while avoiding the formation of potentially toxic aggregates. Our key research questions are: 1) How do quality control factors discriminate between bona fide substrates and functional proteins in a complex cellular environment, such as the lipid bilayer; (2) Once a substrate is recognized, what are the downstream steps that lead to resolution of proteotoxic stress; and (3) How can we leverage the resulting mechanistic insights to develop therapeutic interventions in cancer and neurodegenerative disease?