Timm Maier
Solved the first cryo-EM structures of human mTORC1 and mTORC2
PhD, Freie Universität Berlin (Wolfram Saenger) · postdoc, ETH Zurich (Nenad Ban) · assistant professor, Biozentrum (2011) → associate (2016) → full professor of Structural Biology (2023)
Maier Lab, Biozentrum, University of Basel ↗ Bluesky@maier-lab.bsky.social ↗
Portrait: University of Basel, Biozentrum
Produced one of the first near-atomic structures of complete human mTORC1 (AYL2015), revealing its rigid dimeric assembly. Five years later, solved mTORC2 at 3.2 Å (SCA2020), pinpointing Rictor's C-terminal tail as the reason mTORC2 isn't directly blocked by rapamycin.
Trained under crystallographer Saenger, then cryo-EM pioneer Nenad Ban. Continues combining cryo-EM, X-ray, and computation to map large regulatory complexes at atomic resolution.
Milestones in the Atlas
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | M | Architecture of human mTOR complex 1 AYL2015 One of the first cryo-EM structures of complete human mTORC1, revealing dimeric architecture and active-site access. |
| 2020 | M | The 3.2-A resolution structure of human mTORC2 SCA2020 Cryo-EM structure of human mTORC2 pinpoints Rictor's C-terminus as source of rapamycin insensitivity. |