Suzanne Pfeffer

Dr. Suzanne Pfeffer is the Emma Pfeiffer Merner Professor of Medical Sciences and Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine. Pfeffer works to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which proteins are targeted to specific and distinct compartments within the cell, with a specific focus on intracellular transport. The lab focuses on Rab GTPases that are key coordinators of vesicle traffic between organelles. The recent discovery that mutation of LRRK2 kinase in familial Parkinson's disease targets Rab GTPases has shifted Pfeffer's focus to understanding the consequences of Rab GTPase phosphorylation in normal and disease states. She and her collaborators, Dario Alessi and Matthias Mann, have shown that Rab phosphorylation interferes with primary cilia formation in culture and in mouse brain. She is currently working to understand how this impacts dopaminergic signaling in the brain. The Pfeffer lab also also studies the biologically important the NPC1 and NPC1L1 proteins that are essential for cholesterol transport in humans. Pfeffer has received numerous awards for her work, including a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Basil O’Conner Scholar Award, the Merck Development Award, and a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders Merit Award. In addition to her American Academy of Arts and Sciences Membership, Pfeffer is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Cell Biology.