Prof. Dr. Howard Riezman
1988 – 2002 | Professor for Biochemistry
Howard Riezman first joined the Biozentrum as a postdoc in the lab of Gottfried Schatz and returned later as a Professor of Biochemistry. Riezman earned his PhD in Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1980. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Gottfried Schatz's group at the Biozentrum. In 1983 he established his own independent laboratory at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research ISREC in Lausanne, initiating studies on the endocytic pathway in yeast. He moved back to the Biozentrum as a full professor in 1988, where he continued his work on endocytosis and began investigating the biosynthesis and transport of GPI-anchored proteins. In 2002 he was appointed Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Geneva. He continues to investigate membrane trafficking, but has changed the emphasis of his research to the understanding of the metabolism and function of membrane lipids. He directs the National Center of Competence in Research(NCCR) in Chemical Biology since December 2010. Riezman served on the Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for eight years and is currently a member of SNSF’s Foundation Council.