Peter Walter is a German-American molecular biologist and biochemist. He earned a B.S. degree in chemistry from the Free University of Berlin, an M.S. degree in organic chemistry from Vanderbilt University, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Rockefeller University. He is currently Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
During his thesis work in Dr. Günter Blobel's laboratory, Walter purified the proteinaceous members of a macromolecular complex essential for protein translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and showed that it selectively recognizes nascent secretory proteins in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and targets them to the ER. He subsequently identified a 7S RNA component of the complex which is essential for its function and named the holocomplex the signal recognition particle (SRP).
Walter moved from Rockefeller to start his own laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco, where he and his group identified an ER resident transmembrane kinase/endoribonuclease, Ire1, which is one of three known sensors of the folding capacity within the endoplasmic reticulum lumen responsible for initiating a signaling pathway known as the unfolded protein response.
Walter’s laboratory continues to focus on gaining a mechanistic understanding of protein sorting/targeting to the ER as well as a better understanding the interplay between ER homeostasis and disease.
Walter describes his career as “Walking Along the Serendipitous Path of Discovery†and goes on to say “Personally, I would consider it a crowning highlight of my career if some aspects of the basic knowledge that we have accumulated over the years are translated into a tangible benefit for mankind. Yet importantly, none of these tremendous opportunities were obvious when we started on our journey; they only emerged gradually as we playfully and fervently followed the turns of our meandering and serendipitous path.â€Â
Walter is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Walter is a co-author of Molecular Biology of the Cell, now in its fifth edition.Continue Reading »
