Aakriti Jain
Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center. aakritijainlab.com
Interested in #organelles, #metabolism, #membranes, #enzymes, #cancer, #neurodegeneration 🙂
Side interests include #cats, #beers, #pastries 🙃
- Reposted by Aakriti JainOnline Now: Lysosomes as hubs of metabolic sensing and cellular homeostasis Online now:
- Reposted by Aakriti JainJoin us for the #Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium 2026, April 29-30, in Vienna! Fantastic guest speakers👇 & many slots for talks from abstracts, flash-talks & posters. Lots of opportunities to network. Register now to save your spot! ➡️ www.protein-degradation.org/symposium/ #ubfriends2026
- If you will be at @ascbiology.bsky.social #CellBio2025 this coming week, let’s connect! I'm giving a talk on Tue Dec 9 at 10 AM in the “From Mechanisms to Therapeutic Insights in Neurodegeneration” session and a poster on Mon Dec 8 in the “Organelles – Endosome and Lysosomes” session. See you there!
- Super excited to share that I will be starting my lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center this January! We will explore how lysosomes drive cellular metabolism and signaling to better understand disease to develop new therapies for cancer and neurodegeneration. More info here: aakritijainlab.com
- I am looking for curious and creative scientists at all levels (technicians, postdocs, graduate students, …) to join the team. Please spread the word and reach out if you are interested!
- Had an incredible time at the @embo.org meeting on organelles in Hyderabad, India! So much great science (and food!) #emboccmb25
- Reposted by Aakriti JainExcited to share our work @nature.com! Postdoc @mariopalma.bsky.social, with major contributions from @retickerflynn.bsky.social and collaborators, discovered melanoma cells in lymph nodes gain a targetable FSP1 dependency that limits progression. #TeamFSP1 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Aakriti Jain1/New paper from Zheng Wu, Phong Nguyen et al. @cri-utsw.bsky.social shows how cells balance the two pathways that produce purine nucleotides: de novo purine biosynthesis (DNPB) and purine salvage. The surprising mechanism involves NUDT5, a Nudix hydrolase www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainExcited to share my postdoc work @olzmannlab.bsky.social! We found lipid droplets, the cell’s lipid storage depots, are subject to oxidative damage and are protected by FSP1. Loss of FSP1 triggers droplet peroxidation and cell death, revealing a new layer of lipid quality control! shorturl.at/B5XYD
- Reposted by Aakriti JainExcited to share our latest work out today in @cp-molcell.bsky.social, revealing a molecular link between succinate dehydrogenase and purine synthesis, connecting two fundamental metabolic pathways. Huge congratulations to the first author, Mushtaq Nengroo! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... !
- Reposted by Aakriti JainThrilled to announce the launch of my lab @cri-utsw.bsky.social at UTSW this January! We will explore how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, focusing on membrane mechanics to reveal how tension and signaling work together to shape cell behavior.
- We're growing! Our newest Investigator @henrydebelly.bsky.social will join the CRI Tissue #Regeneration Program in January 2026. Learn more about Henry ➡️ cri.utsw.edu/faculty/henr... and 📌apply to research in his lab cri.utsw.edu/careers
- Reposted by Aakriti JainExcited to share our new preprint, led by Kirandeep Deol! 🤩 Genetic screens uncover mechanisms regulating FSP1 abundance in cancer. Vitamin B2 metabolism promotes FSP1 stability via FAD synth / binding, further linking nutrient metabolism to ferroptosis. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainGo check out the latest preprint from Giulia Zanetti's lab. @dr-downes.bsky.social used cryo-tomography to directly visualize COPI and COPII coated vesicles in situ at unprecedented resolution in human cells. Amazingly beautiful, rigorous, insightful work. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainAnd it's out! I'm thrilled to share our new paper (Adriaenssens et al., Nat Cell Biol 2025). This paper describes a new mechanism for the initiation of autophagosome biogenesis. We found that this WIPI-ATG13-driven pathway is preferentially used by a group of transmembrane autophagy receptors.
- Reposted by Aakriti JainA paper I have been working on with Oliver Lemke in the Ralser lab has just come out: www.nature.com/articles/s41... We used predicted structures to gain insight into the evolution of metabolic proteins in yeast. A bit more in this linked-in post (www.linkedin.com/posts/benjam...).
- Reposted by Aakriti JainWe’re excited to share a new pre-print from the lab! Led by Carmen Ramirez Moncayo and a fantastic collaboration with several groups from across @mrc-lms.bsky.social & @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social. Interested in #OvarianCancer, #PARPinhibitors or #DrugDistribution? please read on! bit.ly/45lpekS
- Reposted by Aakriti JainI am excited to share our new preprint! Led by @laylanassar.bsky.social , we have found a new JIP4-dependent mechanism that controls the efflux of cystine from lysosomes. Our findings have implications for both lysosome biology and human disease: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Reposted by Aakriti Jain*ATG9A alert*👀👀 Curious about how ATG9A maintains lysosomal homeostasis via PI4P? Check out the new work from my postdoc in @satooze.bsky.social lab. Thrilled to see this finally published! Special thanks to @ealmacellas.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Only purifying fluorescently tagged proteins from now on - look at those beautiful mcherry fused proteins 😍💜
- Reposted by Aakriti JainThrilled this paper is out! We solved the first cocrystal structure of FSP1 with an inhibitor (FSEN1), providing mechanistic insight & a foundation for medchem. Led by Amalia Megarioti & Sitao Zhang. A terrific collaboration with Da Jia. Brief Skytorial! 1/9
- Reposted by Aakriti JainNew work @harvard by Miguel Gonzalez-Lozano @harperlabhms.bsky.social & @ernstschmid.bsky.social in Johannes Walter lab charts structural interactome of endosomes. #XL-MS #Alphafold Funded by @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org & NIH. Science continues-despite attacks www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainOnline today in @nature.com - our latest study led by superstar postdoc Gilles Rademaker detailing the role of PSCK9 in driving sterol dependent metastatic organ choice in pancreatic cancer nature.com/articles/s41... full text available here 👉 rdcu.be/em0VG and thread 👇
- Reposted by Aakriti JainmTORC1 is activated when cells are fed with amino acids. New preprint with @robzonculab.bsky.social led by Rachel Jansen shows how the massive "CastiGATOR" complex is formed when arginine-free CASTOR1 binds to the GATOR2 complex to antagonize mTORC1 starved cells. tinyurl.com/yr6en6f4
- Reposted by Aakriti JainHere’s a new set of discoveries led by Francesca Filippini: doi.org/10.1101/2025... We found that LRP10 promotes the efficient delivery of progranulin to lysosomes and that microglia are particularly sensitive to loss of LRP10.
- Reposted by Aakriti JainMove over mitochondria, a new organelle called the nitroplast is here. In a Science study last year, researchers reported that a nitrogen-fixing organelle has been identified in a marine alga. Learn more in this #SciencePerspective: scim.ag/49GjClc #ScienceMagArchives
- Reposted by Aakriti JainOur PKA-autophagy story by outstanding graduate student Ashley Segura (co-led with Rose Citron) published in @embojournal.org, dissects a deep connection between autophagy and PKA in neuronal signaling, with implications for neurological disease. Great collaboration with @manciaslab.bsky.social!
- AKAP11 recruits PKA holoenzymes to #autophagosomes in a bidirectional functional association, both promoting downstream PKA signaling and increasing AKAP11-PKA complex degradation @robzonculab.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Aakriti JainHappy to share the first paper in my PhD is published in JCB! It's my honor to work with amazing teammates! I really enjoy exploring mitochondrial protein import mechanism through cryo-ET!
- Cytoplasmic #ribosomes on #mitochondria alter the local membrane environment for protein import, say Ya-Ting Chang, Danielle Grotjahn (@nanigrotjahn.bsky.social) @scripps.edu and colleagues: rupress.org/jcb/article/... #ProteinHomeostasis #Organelles #StructuralBiology #CryoET
- Reposted by Aakriti JainDespite daily disruptions, scientists try to use logic and creativity to help fellow humans. Thus I would like to report our latest work describing microbial-independent deep assembly and screening, a method that goes from primers to mammalian cell assays in 1 day. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainGroundbreaking study in Cell from @leventallab.bsky.social: phospholipid asymmetry is a defining feature of the plasma membrane and cholesterol fills the holes — major implications for how this membrane works. A #lipidtime must-read! www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainStriking new study from @archaeon-alex.bsky.social's lab just out in @science.org on multicellular development induced by compression in Archaea: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainExciting discovery by Aakriti Jain @aakritijain.bsky.social et al of the @robzonculab.bsky.social lab that LyLAP processively and rapidly proteolyses membrane-spanning hydrophobic domains of transmembrane proteins!
- SO excited to share that a major part of the postdoctoral work in @robzonculab.bsky.social lab is now published: “Leucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainAn incredible tour de force in biochemistry and cell biology by superstar @robzonculab.bsky.social lab postdoc @aakritijain.bsky.social LyLAP - a new lysosomal protease responsible for degrading integral membrane proteins in highly phagocytic cells like #PDAC cells. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainLeucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Congratulations to the @robzonculab.bsky.social and @aakritijain.bsky.social for this wonderful work!
- Reposted by Aakriti JainFantastic study out today by superstar postdoc @aakritijain.bsky.social! It identifies the unresolved function of LyLAP, a protein associated with poor prognosis in PDAC. It is not a phospholipase but a membrane protein protease! Happy that I could help through our untargeted lipidomics platform
- SO excited to share that a major part of the postdoctoral work in @robzonculab.bsky.social lab is now published: “Leucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainHappy to have contributed in a small way to this spectacular study from @aakritijain.bsky.social & @robzonculab.bsky.social identifying LyLAP as a protease for TM domains in the lysosome. Upregulated in PDAC, LyLAP safeguards lysosomes from membrane damage. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainLeucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainAmazing story from #MolecularTherapeutics faculty @robzonculab.bsky.social with lead author @aakritijain.bsky.social describing membrane protein degradation in the lysosome. Congratulations!! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainEeekkk HUGE congratulations @aakritijain.bsky.social and @robzonculab.bsky.social! 🎉 🎉 🎉 Such a cool story and very pleased to see it out!
- SO excited to share that a major part of the postdoctoral work in @robzonculab.bsky.social lab is now published: “Leucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainExciting new work by phenomenal postdoc Aakriti @aakritijain.bsky.social uncovering a key mechanism for membrane protein degradation in the lysosome. Aakriti’s research is already making a major impact, and she’s ready to launch her own lab. Departments hiring in this area—she’s one to watch!
- SO excited to share that a major part of the postdoctoral work in @robzonculab.bsky.social lab is now published: “Leucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- This project was a *journey* and the fruit of incredible collaborations with the labs of @rushika-perera.bsky.social, Guido Bommer, Charly Craik and @olzmannlab.bsky.social and, of course, absolutely incredible mentorship by @robzonculab.bsky.social. Brief 'bluetorial' below!
- Integral membrane proteins enable signal transduction, nutrient transport, cell adhesion and much more. At the end of their lifetime, these proteins are endocytosed and degraded in the lysosome, but how?
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View full threadAlso massive thanks to the peer reviewers and @smhsci.bsky.social who asked really interesting questions and clarifications, and made the entire review process so smooth and pain-less!
- Reposted by Aakriti JainHappy to share the latest work from the lab @crick.ac.uk. Outstanding work from Di Chen and Tony Fearns showing the link between Mtb membrane damage, calcium leakage and ATG8/LC3 lipidation in macrophages. Congratulations Di and Tony! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainInteresting! @nytimes.com still hasn’t covered any of the Stand Up for Science protests today, but they made sure to put this important news front and center online. Powerful reporting…
- Huge crowds in SF today for #standupforscience. inspiring stories, not only from scientists like @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social, but also people who have lived through life-saving/changing experiences as a direct consequence of federally-funded scientific research 💪🏽
- Reposted by Aakriti JainPresident Donald Trump made numerous false and misleading claims in his Tuesday speech to a joint session of Congress. The falsehoods spanned a variety of topics, including the economy, climate, immigration and more. Here is a fact check of some of Trump’s statements.
- Reposted by Aakriti JainAGI has been achieved. All hail Grok 3 (beta)
- Reposted by Aakriti JainFirst: I apologize for never coming here and now doing so only to brag 😬 Second: I am very proud of the people in our lab. We are a small group in a Bio department and this work took an enormous amount of effort from every one here. rdcu.be/eaxEz
- Reposted by Aakriti Jain2. But science is by nature & design inefficient & methodical with long stretches where things move slowly between brief bursts of fast progress. This is how it should be, cautious, thorough, reflective, thoughtful. This is what we need to teach the public. Slow science is good science.
- Reposted by Aakriti JainRegistration is open for our summer FASEB #Ferroptosis Conference July 27 - 31, 2025. We have a terrific line up of speakers and it's going to be amazzzing! Come join us for this historic first meeting! Please help us to spread the word. 🤩 shorturl.at/QA6T1
- Reposted by Aakriti JainThis is what amounts to an ILLEGAL & indiscriminate funding cut for research centers everywhere. It will mean shuttering labs across the country, layoffs in red & blue states, and derailing lifesaving research on everything from cancer to opioid addiction. We all need to speak out to save lives.
- Reposted by Aakriti Jain1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%. I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainThis will kill science in the US. This is how China wins. Why is this not on the news? Why are people not more upset about this? grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainInterested how events are coordinated during #endosome maturation? Check out our latest paper! Congrats Daniel, Samit and Jachen! www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Aakriti JainYour Action Is Needed! Congress needs to hear from scientists. Call your representatives to oppose funding freezes and restrictions on research. Find contact info at govtrack.us and make your voice heard today! #SciencePolicy www.ascb.org/science-poli...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainThe most iconic figure in the environmental sciences is the Keeling Curve, the CO₂ record from Mauna Loa, Hawaii. @noaa.gov had a wonderful site where you could visualize and download these data, and now it's just gone. These data belong to us and we should not let this happen!
- Reposted by Aakriti JainThe NSF is the US engine of basic science discovery and technology innovation. This decision is a gift to our overseas competitors.
- “One of the US’ leading funders of science & engineering research is planning to lay off between a quarter & a half of its staff in the next two months, a top NSF official said Tuesday. The comments…came at an all-hands meeting of the NSF’s Engineering Directorate.” www.politico.com/news/2025/02...
- Reposted by Aakriti JainHonored to be giving a talk at Dana-Farber’s TPD seminar this Thursday 2/6 at 9am PST. dfci.zoom.us/webinar/regist… Come check out MrTAC �� @danafarber.bsky.social
- Reposted by Aakriti Jain🧪Thrilled to share the latest research from the lab of my awesome @umasschan.bsky.social colleague Jessica Spinelli (who isn't on here yet) and collaborators: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
