| Birth Name: | Lynne Elizabeth Maquat |
| Lynne Maquat | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Alma Mater: | University of Wisconsin - Madison University of Connecticut |
| Doctoral Advisor: | William S. Reznikoff |
| Known For: | RNA biology in human diseases |
| Awards: | Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research (2024) Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research (2024) Gruber Prize in Genetics (2023) Wolf Prize in Medicine (2021) FASEB Excellence in Science Award (2018) Wiley Prize (2018) Gairdner Foundation International Award (2015) William C. Rose Award (2014) Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2011) |
| Field: | Biochemistry Molecular biology Cell biology |
| Work Institution: | University of Rochester |
Lynne Elizabeth Maquat is an American biochemist and molecular biologist whose research focuses on the cellular mechanisms of human disease. She is known for her work in describing the process of nonsense-mediated decay. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[1] the National Academy of Sciences[2] and the National Academy of Medicine.[3] She currently holds the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and is a professor of biochemistry and biophysics, pediatrics and oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center.[4]
Maquat graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Connecticut in 1974. She received her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1979.[5]
Maquat did postdoctoral research at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research in Madison, Wisconsin. She then had a brief stint at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York before settling at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, where she now holds an endowed chair. Her research is focused on mRNA decay and the molecular basis of human disease. Her research Specifically, she was the first to describe nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, work that enabled the discovery of the exon junction complex as a critical quality-control mechanism in the cell. She also described Staufen-mediated mRNA decay, a competitive process to NMD, and microRNA degradation. Her research began with beta thalassemia as a model and expanded to other hemoglobinopathies. She has also studied cell death in breast cancer cells exposed to chemotherapy, and cellular differentiation in muscle cells. Maquat also founded the Graduate Women in Science program at the University of Rochester Medical School, which provides mentoring and support to women seeking graduate education in the sciences.[6] [7] [8]