Featured Alumnus

"I chose the Biomedical Sciences Program at UCSD for the diversity of its labs and course work. This breadth of training has helped me apply a multidisciplinary approach to my current research."

Andrew E. Wurmser

Ph.D., 2001
Assistant Professor
UC Berkeley

Dr. Wurmser earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Brown University in 1991. After working as a research technician, he entered the Biomedical Sciences program in 1994. His thesis work resulted in nine published papers and reviews. As a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Salk Institute, he has explored the biology of neuronal stem cells. He is now an Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology a UC Berkeley.

Key Publications

Wurmser A. E., Nakashima K., Summers R. G., Toni N., D'Amour K. A., Lie D. C., Gage F. H. (2004) Cell fusion-Independent Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells to the Endothelial Lineage. Nature 430: 350-356.

Wurmser A. E., Palmer T. D., Gage F. H. (2004) Cellular Interactions in the Stem Cell Niche. Science 304:1253-1255.

Wurmser A. E. and Gage F. H. (2002) Stem Cells: Cell Fusion Causes Confusion. Nature 416: 485-487.

Wurmser A. E. and Emr S. D. (2002) Novel PtdIns(3)P-binding Protein Etf1, Functions as an Effector of the Vps34 PtdIns 3-Kinase in Autophagy. J. Cell Biol. 158: 761-772.

Wurmser A. E., Sato T. K., Emr S. D. (2000) New Component of the Vacuolar Class CVps Complex Couples Nucleotide Exchange on the Ypt7 GTPase to SNARE-Dependent Docking/Fusion. J. Cell Biol. 151: 551-562.

Wurmser A. E., Gary J. D., Emr S. D. (1999) Phosphoinositide 3-Kinases and their FYVE Domain-Containing Effectors as Regulators of Vacuolar/Lysosomal Membrane Trafficking Pathways. J. Biol. Chem. 274: 9129-9132.

Gary J. D.*, Wurmser A. E.*, Bonangelino C. J., Weisman L. S., Emr S. D. (1998) Fab1p is Essential for PtdIns(3)P 5-Kinase Activity and the Maintenance of Vacuolar Size and Membrane Homeostasis. J. Cell Biol. 143: 65-79.

Wurmser A. E. and Emr S. D. (1998) PtdIns Signaling and Turnover: PtdIns(3)P, a Regulator of Membrane Traffic, is Transported to the Vacuole and Degraded by a Process that Requires Lumenal Vacuolar Hydrolase Activities. EMBO J. 17: 4930-4942.

DeVries L., Mousli M., Wurmser A. E., Farquhar M. G. (1995) GAIP, a Protein that Specifically Interacts with the Trimeric G Protein Gai3, is a Member of a Protein Family with a Highly Conserved Core Domain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92: 11916-11920.