Lab lineage
Labs pass on more than results. A PhD student or postdoc learns a way of asking questions, takes it to their own lab and turns it in a new direction. This map follows 116 such links: 133 scientists in the tree, who trained where, what they worked on there and what their own lab studies now. Another 24 mentors, whose labs people passed through before or after their main one, are named next to that person.
Each dot is a scientist. A line means "trained in this lab". Tap a dot to see who learned there and what they went on to study.
Over time
Left is long ago, right is today. A bar is a lab. A tick on a bar is a new student or postdoc arriving. A dashed piece is the time someone spent learning in another lab.
Smaller lineages 42 labs
Lab start years come from institutional profiles, CVs, obituaries and award biographies; each is stored with its source. 14 of 55 are approximate or not yet documented and are drawn faded. Training years come from the same records as the tree and are often given as "about".
The largest lab families
Each has its own page with the full tree, every trainee and what they took with them.
The Snyder–Sabatini lineage Cancer & therapy · Lysosome & autophagy · Metabolism 
The Cantley lineage Metabolism · mTORC1 nutrient sensing · Lysosome & autophagy 
The Herskowitz–Hall lineage mTORC2 & growth factors · Cancer & therapy · mTORC1 nutrient sensing 
The Teleman–Demetriades lineage mTORC1 nutrient sensing · Lysosome & autophagy · Aging & lifespan 
The Erikson–Blenis lineage mTORC2 & growth factors · Translation · Cancer & therapy All lineages as a list
The same tree in text, one block per founder. Indentation means "trained in the lab above". The other 24 of the 157 scientists are mentors someone trained with before or after their main lab; they are named next to that person.
The Snyder–Sabatini lineage 25 scientists Family page →
- Solomon H. Snyder
- David M. Sabatini mTORC1 nutrient sensing Purified RAFT1 (mTOR), the mammalian protein that binds FKBP12 only in the presence of rapamycin, and showed that it phosphorylates S6K and 4E-BP1.
- Roberto Zoncu Lysosome & autophagy Showed that mTORC1 senses amino acids 'inside-out', starting in the lysosome lumen and requiring the v-ATPase. Also trained with Pietro De Camilli (PhD)
- Rosalie E. Lawrence Lysosome & autophagy Studied how the Rag GTPases regulate mTORC1, including the cryo-EM structure of the lysosomal FLCN-FNIP2-Rag-Ragulator complex. Also trained with Peter Walter (Postdoc)
- Alejo Efeyan Immunity Made RagA-GTP knock-in mice and showed that Rag-dependent mTORC1 control is essential for autophagy and survival right after birth. Also trained with Manuel Serrano (PhD)
- Brian C. Grabiner Cancer & therapy First author on mTOR resistance-mutation work (2014) and co-author on the GATOR and Sestrin papers.
- Carson C. Thoreen Translation Characterized Torin1, an ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitor that revealed functions of mTORC1 rapamycin cannot block, and later a model of how mTORC1 controls TOP-mRNA translation.
- David A. Guertin mTORC2 & growth factors Used rictor and mLST8 knockout mice to define what mTORC2 does in the whole animal (Akt-FOXO and PKC-alpha signalling).
- Dos D. Sarbassov mTORC2 & growth factors Co-discovered rictor and mTORC2, showed that mTORC2 phosphorylates Akt at Ser473, and that prolonged rapamycin blocks mTORC2 assembly.
- Dudley W. Lamming Aging & lifespan Showed that rapamycin causes insulin resistance by disrupting mTORC2, while lowering mTORC1 alone can extend lifespan without hurting glucose control. Also trained with David A. Sinclair (PhD)
- Gregory A. Wyant Metabolism Showed that SLC38A9 senses arginine and also exports essential amino acids such as leucine from lysosomes; co-developed rapid lysosome purification (LysoIP). Also trained with William G. Kaelin Jr. (Postdoc)
- Kacper B. Rogala Structure Solved the 3.2 A cryo-EM structure of raptor bound to Rag-Ragulator, showing how mTORC1 docks on the lysosome.
- Kendall J. Condon Mitochondria Ran genome-wide CRISPR screens cataloguing mTORC1 regulators and showed that AMPK and HRI-ATF4 relay mitochondrial dysfunction to mTORC1.
- Liron Bar-Peled Cancer & therapy Identified Ragulator as the GEF that switches the Rags on, and GATOR1 as the GAP that switches them off, a tumour-suppressor complex mutated in cancer. Also trained with Benjamin F. Cravatt (Postdoc)
- Lynne Chantranupong Neuroscience Found that the Sestrins act through GATOR2 and identified CASTOR1 as the cytosolic arginine sensor for mTORC1. Also trained with Bernardo L. Sabatini (Postdoc)
- Mathieu Laplante Metabolism Showed that mTORC1 switches on SREBP-1c and fat production in the liver, and worked on DEPTOR.
- Monther Abu-Remaileh Lysosome & autophagy Developed LysoIP for fast lysosome isolation and lysosomal metabolomics, showing v-ATPase and mTOR-dependent control of amino-acid efflux.
- Nada Y. Kalaany Cancer & therapy Showed that tumours with constantly active PI3K do not respond to dietary restriction.
- Peggy P. Hsu Cancer & therapy Mapped the mTOR-regulated phosphoproteome and identified Grb10 as an mTORC1 substrate that feeds back to inhibit PI3K. Also trained with Matthew G. Vander Heiden (Postdoc)
- Rachel L. Wolfson Neuroscience Showed that Sestrin2 is a direct leucine sensor for mTORC1, binding leucine at about the concentration that half-activates the pathway.
- Robert A. Saxton Immunity Solved the crystal structures of Sestrin2 with leucine and CASTOR1 with arginine, showing how amino acids are recognized upstream of mTORC1. Also trained with K. Christopher Garcia (Postdoc)
- Shomit Sengupta Metabolism Showed that liver mTORC1 controls ketone-body production during fasting through PPAR-alpha, and that this control changes with age.
- Tim Wang Neuroscience Developed genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screens in human cells and defined the genes human cells cannot live without. Also trained with Karel Svoboda (Postdoc)
- Timothy R. Peterson Aging & lifespan Discovered DEPTOR, a natural brake on mTOR that is overexpressed in some multiple myelomas, and worked on where mTORC1 sits in the cell.
- Yasemin Sancak Mitochondria Showed that the Rag GTPases bind raptor and carry the amino-acid signal to mTORC1, that Ragulator anchors them on the lysosome, and identified PRAS40 as an mTORC1 substrate. Also trained with Vamsi K. Mootha (Postdoc)
The Cantley lineage 11 scientists Family page →
- Lewis C. Cantley
- Brendan D. Manning Metabolism Identified TSC2 as a direct Akt substrate and helped establish Rheb as the GTPase target of the TSC complex upstream of mTOR.
- Issam Ben-Sahra Metabolism Showed that mTORC1 drives pyrimidine synthesis through S6K1 phosphorylation of CAD, and purine synthesis through ATF4-MTHFD2.
- Eunus S. Ali Metabolism Studied how mTORC1 and ERK signalling control purine and nucleotide synthesis, including ERK2 phosphorylation of PFAS, and purine metabolism in glioblastoma drug resistance.
- Alexander J. Valvezan Metabolism Found nucleotide-synthesis dependencies of TSC-deficient, mTORC1-driven tumour cells that can be targeted. Also trained with Peter S. Klein (PhD)
- Gerta Hoxhaj Metabolism Found links between PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 signalling and nucleotide and NADP/redox metabolism.
- Christian C. Dibble Metabolism Identified TBC1D7 as the third core subunit of the TSC complex and studied mTORC2 regulation.
- Krystle C. Kalafut Metabolism Thesis on liver mTORC1: showed that dietary protein, not insulin, is the main driver of liver mTORC1 after a meal.
- Sue Menon mTORC1 nutrient sensing Showed that insulin, through Akt phosphorylation of TSC2, makes the TSC complex leave the lysosome so Rheb can switch on mTORC1 (Cell 2014).
- Reuben J. Shaw Metabolism Showed that LKB1 is needed for AMPK activity in the liver, controls glucose levels through CRTC2, and is required for metformin's glucose-lowering effect (Science 2005). Also trained with Tyler Jacks (PhD)
- Daniel F. Egan Lysosome & autophagy Showed that AMPK directly phosphorylates ULK1/ULK2, linking energy sensing to autophagy and mitophagy (Science 2011), and developed ULK1 inhibitors.
The Herskowitz–Hall lineage 8 scientists Family page →
- Ira Herskowitz
- Michael N. Hall mTORC2 & growth factors Showed that a short piece of yeast MATalpha2 is enough to send a protein into the nucleus, an early study of nuclear localization signals. Also trained with Thomas J. Silhavy (PhD)
- Estela Jacinto mTORC2 & growth factors Showed that a mammalian TORC2 (mTOR, mLST8, rictor) exists, is rapamycin-insensitive and controls the actin cytoskeleton (Nat Cell Biol 2004). Also trained with Michael Karin (PhD)
- Charles Betz Mitochondria Showed that mTORC2 sits at contact sites between the ER and mitochondria (MAM), where mTORC2-Akt signalling keeps these contacts and mitochondria working (PNAS 2013).
- Joseph Heitman Cancer & therapy Started the lab's rapamycin project in yeast, which found FPR1 (FKBP) and the TOR1 and TOR2 genes (Science 1991).
- Kathrin Thedieck Metabolism Used proteomics to identify PRAS40 and PRR5L as new mTOR-binding proteins (PLoS One 2007).
- Robbie Loewith mTORC1 nutrient sensing Co-discovered the two yeast TOR complexes, TORC1 (rapamycin-sensitive) and TORC2 (rapamycin-insensitive), by purifying TOR partners (Mol Cell 2002).
- Yakir Guri Cancer & therapy Built an mTOR-driven mouse model of fatty liver turning into liver cancer and showed that liver mTORC2 drives tumours by boosting fat, sphingolipid and cardiolipin synthesis (Cancer Cell 2017).
The Teleman–Demetriades lineage 5 scientists Family page →
- Aurelio A. Teleman
- Constantinos Demetriades Lysosome & autophagy Showed that when amino acids or growth factors run out, the Rag GTPases pull TSC2 to the lysosome, where it switches off Rheb and releases mTORC1 (Cell 2014).
- Julian Nüchel mTORC1 nutrient sensing Co-authored the studies on the spatial split of mTORC1 by amino-acid source and on malonyl-CoA as a direct mTORC1 inhibitor.
- Peter Gollwitzer mTORC1 nutrient sensing Showed that the four Rag GTPase paralogues are not interchangeable: RagC/D decides which substrates mTORC1 picks, RagA/B sets the response to amino-acid withdrawal (Nat Cell Biol 2022).
- Stephanie A. Fernandes Aging & lifespan Showed that mTORC1 is split in space: a lysosomal pool and a cytoplasmic pool respond to different amino-acid sources and phosphorylate different substrates (Nat Cell Biol 2024).
The Erikson–Blenis lineage 4 scientists Family page →
- Raymond L. Erikson
- John Blenis mTORC2 & growth factors Worked on Xenopus ribosomal S6 kinase II (later RSK), including its cloning and two-kinase-domain structure.
- Andrew R. Tee Cancer & therapy Showed that TSC1-TSC2 inhibits mTOR signalling and acts as a GAP for Rheb, placing Rheb between TSC and mTOR. Also trained with Christopher G. Proud (PhD)
- Philippe P. Roux Translation Showed that RSK1 phosphorylates TSC2 at Ser1798 downstream of Ras/MAPK, linking MAPK signalling to mTORC1 (PNAS 2004).
38 smaller lineages 80 scientists
- Dale E. Bredesen
- Veronica Galvan Neuroscience Showed that blocking the Asp664 caspase site of APP prevents Alzheimer-like pathology in transgenic mice (PNAS 2006).
- Stacy A. Hussong Neuroscience Studies mTOR in brain blood vessels; co-discovered that harmful tau enters brain endothelial cells and drives their senescence.
- Christopher C. Goodnow
- Kevan M. Shokat Cancer & therapy Showed that soluble antigen removes self-reactive B cells inside germinal centres (Nature 1995). Also trained with Peter G. Schultz (PhD)
- Yi Liu Cancer & therapy Engineered protein kinases with changed nucleotide and inhibitor specificity, the chemical-genetics approach of the Shokat lab.
- Jack E. Dixon
- Kun-Liang Guan mTORC1 nutrient sensing Showed that protein-tyrosine phosphatases work through a cysteine-phosphate intermediate (Cys215). Also trained with Henry Weiner (PhD)
- Jenna L. Jewell mTORC1 nutrient sensing Showed that leucine activates mTORC1 through the Rags while glutamine uses a Rag-independent route that needs Arf1 and the v-ATPase (Science 2015). Also trained with Debbie C. Thurmond (PhD)
- Philip Cohen
- Dario R. Alessi mTORC2 & growth factors Purified and characterised PDK1, the kinase that phosphorylates Akt/PKB at Thr308.
- Juan M. García-Martínez mTORC2 & growth factors Showed that mTORC2, not mTORC1, phosphorylates SGK1, set NDRG1 phosphorylation as an mTORC2 readout, and characterized the mTOR inhibitor Ku-0063794.
- Aaron J. Shatkin
- Nahum Sonenberg Translation Purified the mRNA cap-binding protein, later named eIF4E, the protein through which mTOR controls translation (PNAS 1979).
- Ana Maria Cuervo
- Esperanza Arias-Perez Lysosome & autophagy Found that lysosomal mTORC2-PHLPP1-Akt signalling regulates chaperone-mediated autophagy (Mol Cell 2015).
- Andrea Ballabio
- Carmine Settembre Lysosome & autophagy Showed that TFEB links autophagy to lysosome production and is controlled by nutrient-dependent phosphorylation (ERK2, mTORC1) (Science 2011).
- Andrzej Bartke
- Holly M. Brown-Borg Aging & lifespan Showed that Ames dwarf mice, lacking growth hormone, prolactin and TSH, live much longer than normal siblings (Nature 1996).
- Bert L. Vallee
- J. Wade Harper Structure Linked the ribonuclease activity of angiogenin to its ability to grow blood vessels.
- Carl O. Pabo
- Nikola P. Pavletich Structure Solved the crystal structure of the Zif268 zinc finger bound to DNA (Science 1991).
- Cynthia Kenyon
- Malene Hansen Aging & lifespan Ran a genome-wide RNAi longevity screen in C. elegans and showed that lowering TOR and protein synthesis extends lifespan.
- David C. Rubinsztein
- Viktor I. Korolchuk Lysosome & autophagy Showed that where lysosomes sit in the cell, set by internal pH, coordinates mTORC1 signalling with autophagosome formation (Nat Cell Biol 2011).
- Davide Ruggero
- Andrew C. Hsieh Translation Used ribosome profiling to map how oncogenic mTOR changes translation in prostate cancer, and showed that the mTOR inhibitor INK128 blocks pro-invasion mRNA translation and metastasis (Nature 2012).
- Frank Madeo
- Sabrina Büttner Neuroscience PhD on new programmed cell-death pathways in yeast; contributed to the spermidine and autophagy longevity work.
- Gary Ruvkun
- Ralf Baumeister Aging & lifespan Showed how lineage regulators switch on the C. elegans gene unc-86 in one daughter of each dividing neuroblast.
- Gennaro Napolitano
- Alessandra Esposito mTORC1 nutrient sensing First author of a 2026 Nature study on a TBK1/ULK1-FNIP1 axis that couples lysosomal stress to TFEB activation.
- Gerald M. Rubin
- Ernst Hafen mTORC1 nutrient sensing Postdoctoral research assistant in Drosophila molecular genetics in the Rubin lab, UC Berkeley, before returning to Zurich to found Drosophila insulin/TOR growth-signaling work.
- Gunter Blobel
- Xiaochun Li Structure Solved structures of NPC1 domains bound to NPC2, explaining how cholesterol leaves lysosomes.
- Christian Sell
- Alessandro Bitto Aging & lifespan Showed that long-term IGF-I exposure reduces autophagy and viability in human fibroblasts, and studied rapamycin in senescent cells.
- Leonard Guarente
- Brian K. Kennedy Aging & lifespan Found the sir4-42 mutation that extends yeast replicative lifespan, the first link between sirtuin-family silencing proteins and aging (Cell 1995).
- Martin D. Brand
- Satomi Miwa Mitochondria Measured where mitochondria make superoxide and showed that mild uncoupling strongly lowers it.
- Michael Karin
- Pankaj Kapahi Aging & lifespan Showed that arsenite blocks NF-kB activation by binding a key cysteine in IKK. Also trained with Seymour Benzer (Postdoc), Thomas B. L. Kirkwood (PhD)
- Mustafa Sahin
- Jonathan O. Lipton Neuroscience Showed that S6K1 phosphorylates the clock protein BMAL1, linking mTOR to daily rhythms of protein synthesis, and that constant mTOR activity in tuberous sclerosis models disturbs the clock.
- Nenad Ban
- Timm Maier Structure Solved crystal structures of fungal and mammalian fatty acid synthase.
- Pietro De Camilli
- Shawn M. Ferguson Lysosome & autophagy Generated dynamin 1 knockout mice and showed an activity-dependent need for dynamin 1 in synaptic vesicle recycling (Science 2007).
- Richard A. Flavell
- Hongbo Chi Immunity Showed that MAPK phosphatase 1 (MKP-1) tunes pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in innate immunity.
- Richard F. Lamb
- Greg M. Findlay PhD research in Lamb's lab at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, looking for new components of the mTOR pathway; co-author of HAR2004 showing TSC1-2 loss keeps S6K1 active and suppresses IRS-1.
- Roger Y. Tsien
- Jin Zhang mTORC1 nutrient sensing Co-postdoc mentor (with Susan Taylor) at UC San Diego; developed genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors for kinase/second-messenger signaling, a toolkit later applied to mTORC1 signal dynamics. Also trained with Susan S. Taylor (Postdoc)
- Roman V. Kondratov
- Nikkhil Velingkaar Aging & lifespan Studies how the circadian clock and feeding time shape mTOR signalling and metabolism in mice.
- Ruedi Aebersold
- Steven P. Gygi Structure Developed isotope-coded affinity tags (ICAT) for quantitative proteomics.
- Russell E. Vance
- Grace Y. Liu Immunity Studies innate antiviral immunity, including how SP140 controls interferon-beta mRNA stability.
- Scott W. Lowe
- Chong Chen Cancer & therapy Showed in mice that halving MLL3 gene dosage drives acute myeloid leukaemia (Cancer Cell 2014).
- Stanley Fields
- Matt Kaeberlein Aging & lifespan Ran genome-wide yeast lifespan screens showing that lower TOR signalling extends lifespan (Genes Dev 2006). Also trained with Leonard Guarente (PhD)
- Stanley J. Korsmeyer
- Luca Scorrano Mitochondria HFSP postdoctoral fellow in the Korsmeyer lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School, working on mitochondrial apoptosis.
- Tobias Meyer
- Steven D. Cappell Metabolism Showed that irreversible inactivation of APC/C-Cdh1 is the point of no return for entering the cell cycle (Cell 2016).
- V. Reggie Edgerton
- Sue C. Bodine Metabolism PhD advisor at UCLA in physiology/neuromuscular systems; Bodine calls him the person who most influenced her scientific career.
- Xuejun Jiang
- Ian G. Ganley Lysosome & autophagy Identified the ULK1-ATG13-FIP200 complex and showed that mTOR phosphorylates it according to nutrient supply (J Biol Chem 2009).
- Yoshinori Ohsumi
- Noboru Mizushima Lysosome & autophagy Discovered the Atg12-Atg5 conjugation system that autophagy needs (Nature 1998), the first ubiquitin-like system found in autophagy.
How this map is made
This is an editorial reconstruction, not a citation analysis. A link appears only when two independent sources agree: a PubMed paper that the trainee wrote with the mentor while working at the mentor's institution, and a separate page that names the mentor, such as a lab alumni list, a CV, a thesis record or an official profile. Links with one source so far are kept back until a second one turns up.
Many scientists trained in more than one lab. The map draws each person under one mentor (the one whose work appears most often in the Atlas) and shows the other links as dashed lines and in the side panel. Positions and dates come from those sources and can lag behind job moves. If you spot a mistake, use the report button at the bottom of the page.
Related: the field's timeline follows ideas over time; the lab map shows where the same people work today.
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