Alejo Efeyan
Showed that the Rag GTPases, which relay amino-acid signals to mTORC1, are a life-or-death switch for newborn mice surviving the fast before their first feeding
Group Leader, CNIO (since 2016) · postdoc, Whitehead Institute, MIT (David M. Sabatini lab, 2008–2015) · PhD, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, CNIO (Manuel Serrano lab, 2003–2008)
Metabolism and Cell Signalling Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) (Madrid, Spain) ↗ Lab lineagetrained under David M. Sabatini → Bluesky@efeyanlab.bsky.social ↗ ORCID0000-0002-3806-6799 ↗
Portrait: Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)
As a postdoc with Sabatini, Efeyan helped show (ZON2011) that amino-acid sensing begins inside the lysosome: amino acids accumulating in the lumen are read by the v-ATPase, which relays an 'inside-out' signal to Ragulator-Rag to activate mTORC1. In 2012, as first author of a Sabatini-lab study, he used knock-in mice with permanently active RagA — these mice die within a day of birth, unable to switch mTORC1 off during the neonatal fast, failing to induce autophagy or mobilize amino acids for gluconeogenesis.
Efeyan trained as a mouse geneticist in Manuel Serrano's lab (p53/tumor suppression) before 7 years with Sabatini.
In 2016 he returned to Madrid to start his own CNIO group studying nutrient sensing, cancer, and aging; named EMBO Young Investigator.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | R | mTOR: from growth signal integration to cancer, diabetes and ageing ZON2010 Authoritative review of mTOR from growth-signal integration to disease. |
| 2011 | M | mTORC1 senses lysosomal amino acids through an inside-out mechanism that requires the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase ZON2011 Amino-acid sensing begins inside the lysosome, relayed 'inside-out' via the v-ATPase to Ragulator-Rag. |
| 2012 | A | Regulation of mTORC1 by the Rag GTPases is necessary for neonatal autophagy and survival EFE2012 Knock-in mice with constitutively active RagA cannot switch off mTORC1 during the neonatal fast and die within a day of birth. |
Co-authors in the Atlas 6
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Alejo Efeyan.
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- David M. Sabatini 3 shared studies Identified mTOR (as RAFT1) in 1994. His lab then mapped much of the machinery around it: raptor and rictor at the core of mTORC1 and mTORC2, the Rag–Ragulator system that docks mTORC1 on the lysosome, and the sensors that detect leucine, arginine and SAM
- Roberto Zoncu 3 shared studies Showed as a postdoc that mTORC1 senses amino acids from inside the lysosome, through the v-ATPase and Ragulator. His Berkeley lab has since mapped how the Rag GTPases and the folliculin complex switch mTORC1 on, and how lysosomal cholesterol feeds into the same system
- Liron Bar-Peled Showed as a Sabatini-lab graduate student that Ragulator switches the Rag GTPases on, acting as their GEF. He also discovered GATOR1 and GATOR2; GATOR1 switches the Rags off and its genes are mutated in some cancers
- Rachel L. Wolfson Identified Sestrin2 as the direct leucine sensor of the mTORC1 pathway as a Sabatini-lab MD-PhD student. She also co-discovered KICSTOR, the complex that recruits GATOR1 to the lysosome
- Shuyu Wang Co-discovered SLC38A9 as a Sabatini-lab MD-PhD student, a lysosomal amino-acid transporter that signals arginine sufficiency to mTORC1
- Yasemin Sancak Showed as a Sabatini-lab graduate student, in parallel with Kun-Liang Guan's lab, that the Rag GTPases relay amino-acid signals to mTORC1, and that Ragulator anchors them to the lysosome where mTORC1 is switched on. She also identified PRAS40 as an insulin-regulated inhibitor of mTORC1
Every researcher with a profile →
On the programme
Meetings in the Atlas calendar where Alejo Efeyan is listed among the speakers or organisers.
- past Prague Metabolism and Signaling Symposium 2026 ↗ 24–27 Jun 2026 ·
Prague, Czech Republic · ★★★
All meetings in the calendar →
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