Scott Emr

Professor, Molecular Biology and Genetics

Scott D. Emr is the Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and Director of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology (Weill Institute). He received his Ph.D. degree in Molecular Genetics from Harvard Medical School in 1981. Prior to joining the faculty at Cornell, he has held positions at the California Institute of Technology (Assistant and Associate Professor; 1983-1991) and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (Distinguished Professor and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; 1991-2007).

Recent Research

Research in the Emr lab focuses on three main topics: (1) the genetics of endocytic trafficking and receptor down-regulation (mediated by the ART and ESCRT machinery); (2) genetic and biochemical analysis of phosphoinositide lipid- and ubiquitin-dependent membrane sorting and signaling pathways and (3) defining the pathways for maintaining the composition and quality of membrane proteins both at the plasma membrane and the lysosomal membrane (nutrient transporters, channels, receptors, etc.). To better understand membrane protein down-regulation and quality control, we are interested in deciphering how the ubiquitin conjugation machinery is targeted to specific client proteins at the PM and the lysosomal membrane. Previously, we identified and characterized a family of arrestin-related trafficking adaptors, or ARTs, which recruit the Rsp5 ubiquitin ligase to specific targets at the PM. We also discovered the ESCRT (Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport) complexes as essential components of the MVB (multi-vesicular body) sorting pathway. The ESCRT complexes play critical roles in the down-regulation and degradation of plasma membrane receptors and transporters. ESCRTs also are essential for the budding of many retroviruses including HIV, the abscission event during cytokinesis, reformation of the nuclear membrane following mitosis, and the repair of PM damage. The formation of MVBs is a key step in the delivery of cargo destined for degradation in the lysosome. Failure to attenuate plasma membrane (PM) signaling processes, by endocytic and MVB mediated down-regulation of growth factor receptors, can lead to hyper-proliferation and cancer.

Awards & Honors

Elected Lifetime Fellow - American Society for Cell Biology 2017 American Society for Cell Biology
Keith R. Porter Award “in recognition of outstanding contributions to cell biology” 2017 American Society for Cell Biology
van Deenan Medal "in recognition of his outstanding career in biomembrane research." 2014 University of Utrecht