William B. Mair
Studies how nutrient and energy sensors, and dietary restriction, control the rate of ageing, using models from yeast to mammals
Professor of Molecular Metabolism · Director, Harvard Chan School Aging Initiative · Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Portrait: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
William Mair leads the Mair Lab at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he is Professor of Molecular Metabolism and directs the school's Aging Initiative. His group asks why ageing raises the risk of chronic disease, and how food and metabolism change the pace of ageing. Their aim is to find genetic pathways that could copy the benefits of dietary restriction without its drawbacks.
He has received the American Federation for Aging Research Breakthrough in Gerontology Award, along with scholar awards from the Glenn and Ellison foundations (as listed on his Harvard profile). Much of his work looks at how cells' nutrient and energy sensors, including the pathways that meet at mTOR, stop working well with age.
In the Atlas he appears as a co-author of SHI2026, a 2026 preprint led from Edward Chouchani's laboratory. It reports that dietary restriction oxidises a selected set of protein cysteines, and that oxidation of Cys19 on the autophagy protein ATG5 is needed for autophagy during nutrient restriction. It has not been peer reviewed.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | PP | Redox activation of ATG5 licenses autophagy upon nutrient restriction SHI2026 Co-author of the preprint showing that dietary restriction oxidises selected cysteines and that oxidation of ATG5 Cys19 licenses autophagy upon nutrient restriction. |
Co-authors in the Atlas
People with a profile here who share at least one study with William B. Mair.
- Edward T. Chouchani Senior/corresponding author on a bioRxiv preprint showing dietary restriction licenses autophagy through oxidation of a single cysteine (Cys19) on the core autophagy protein ATG5
Every researcher with a profile →
Thank you. Your answer was counted anonymously.
Thank you. That helps us know which pages have been read by someone who knows the work.
Thank you. We will check it and correct the page.