James Olzmann

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW - Toronto (City), Ontario (CA) job with Taipale Lab, Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto | 12849004 The Taipale lab in the Donnelly CCBR and University of Toronto is looking for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow

We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on induced proximity 🤜🤛 and functional genomics! Join our team in Toronto 🇨🇦 to tackle major challenges in oncology and neurodegeneration. www.nature.com/naturecareer...

FSP1-mediated lipid droplet quality control prevents neutral lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis - Nature Cell Biology Lange et al. identify a lipid droplet quality control pathway in which FSP1 safeguards stored neutral lipids from lipid peroxidation, thereby preventing the induction of ferroptosis.

#NatMetabPicks | In @natcellbio.nature.com led by @olzmannlab.bsky.social ( @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social )

FSP1, localized to lipid droplets, protects stored lipids from oxidative damage and prevents ferroptosis.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Curious how proteins find their way to #LipidDroplets?

Our bipartite review traces their journey from ER insertion to LD partitioning:

👉 Navigating lipid droplet proteins - part II: Molecular mechanisms of ER-to-LD protein partitioning

#Organelles
#EndoplasmicReticulum
#ER_Literature

FSP1-mediated lipid droplet quality control prevents neutral lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis - Nature Cell Biology Lange et al. identify a lipid droplet quality control pathway in which FSP1 safeguards stored neutral lipids from lipid peroxidation, thereby preventing the induction of ferroptosis.

Excited 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

FSP1-mediated lipid droplet quality control prevents neutral lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis - Nature Cell Biology Lange et al. identify a lipid droplet quality control pathway in which FSP1 safeguards stored neutral lipids from lipid peroxidation, thereby preventing the induction of ferroptosis.

Excited to share our study out in @natcellbio.nature.com! Led by @mikelangelipid.bsky.social, we identify the first #LipidDroplet lipid quality control pathway: LD-localized FSP1 protects stored lipids from oxidative damage and prevents LD-initiated #ferroptosis.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Great Endoplasmic Reticulum meeting in Paris organized by the amazing Eric Chevet @ericchevet.bsky.social! It was wonderful to also hang out with James Olzmann @olzmannlab.bsky.social and Rachid Thiam @abdourachidthiam.bsky.social.

David Baltimore, Nobel-Winning Molecular Biologist, Dies at 87

A giant in molecular biology and virology has passed. RIP David Baltimore.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/s...

Join us in celebrating the #ASBMB26 Award Winners!
• @abu-remaileh.bsky.social
• Suzanne Barbour
• @bradylabupenn.bsky.social
• George Carman
• Joseph Cotruvo
• Roger Davis
• @rolanddunbrack.bsky.social
• Pamela Mertz
• @olzmannlab.bsky.social
• Kim Orth
• Margaret Phillips
ow.ly/x05f50WSbax

Congrats to MCB's James Olzmann @olzmannlab.bsky.social on receiving the ASBMB 2026 Avanti Award in Lipids @asbmb.bsky.social! 👍🎉

ASBMB names 2026 award winners Check out their lectures at the annual meeting in March in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Humbled and honored to receive the 2026 Avanti Award in Lipids from ASBMB! Grateful to my exceptional lab, mentors, and collaborators for their support and inspiration. Excited to keep pushing the boundaries of lipid biology and therapeutics!
www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/...

First day of class @UCBerkeley! Kicked off the day peeking in on the Therapeutic Discovery and Development class taught by @dannomura.bsky.social @robzonculab.bsky.social @urnov.bsky.social!! 🤩🔥!!

First day of class @UCBerkeley! Kicked off the day peeking in on the Therapeutic Discovery and Development class taught by @dannomura.bsky.social @robzonculab.bsky.social @urnov.bsky.social!! 🤩🔥!!

Tenure track position alert! Assistant Professor of Molecular Therapeutics in MCB @UCBerkeley. Apply and come be our colleague! 🎉
aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05098

Multiple oestradiol functions inhibit ferroptosis and acute kidney injury - Nature 17β-oestradiol establishes an anti-ferroptotic state in female kidney tubules.

Happy to start at Bluesky with a post on our recent manuscript at @nature.com:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Great collaboration with cool scientists such as @theprattgroup.bsky.social, @fedorovalab.bsky.social and many who do not (yet) have a Bluesky account.

Congrats! Looking forward to digging into this important review! 🤩

Hot off the presses! Was an honor to team up with Scott Dixon @stanforduniversity.bsky.social on this Nature Cancer review. We reflect on hurdles that have slowed translation of ferroptosis-directed therapies and share ideas on what it will take to bring these therapies to the clinic. rdcu.be/eBbqV

Jessalyn Ubellacker @ubellackerlab.bsky.social was honored with a FASEB Journal Early Career Researcher Award at the first FASEB Ferroptosis, Oxidative Stress, and Lipid Metabolism meeting, co-organized by James Olzmann @olzmannlab.bsky.social and Scott Dixon, to support early career researchers.

Jennifer Doudna named 2026 Priestley Medalist by the American Chemical Society.

Congrats to MCB's Jennifer Doudna @jenniferdoudna.bsky.social on receiving the 2026 ACS Priestley Medal from the @acs.org! 👏🏅
www.acs.org/pressroom/ne...

Lysosomal membrane homeostasis and its importance in physiology and disease Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Published online: 04 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41580-025-00873-wLysosomes degrade cellular components, and their membrane is an important signalling hub. Recent insights into the mechanisms that maintain lysosomal membrane homeostasis — including the interplay between membrane damage, repair, lysophagy and lysosome biogenesis — highlight their importance in physiology, in disease and during ageing.

ICYMI: New Online! Lysosomal membrane homeostasis and its importance in physiology and disease

Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice Evolution has shaped the genetic code, with subtle pressures leading to preferences for some synonymous codons over others. Codons are translated at different speeds by the ribosome, imposing constrai...

This preprint from Helen Sakharova is one of the coolest things to come out of my lab: “Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice.” Codon choice is a big puzzle in how information is encoded in genomes, and we have a new angle. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Fourteen Visionary Scientists Named 2025 ASCB Fellows - ASCB The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is proud to announce the election of 14 outstanding scientists as 2025 ASCB Fellows—a prestigious honor recognizing their exceptional contributions to cell...

I am honored to be named a 2025 ASCB Fellow! It is a privilege to be part of the ASCB community. ASCB was the first conference I attended as a grad student, and it has always been a welcoming, supportive home. Thank you for this kind recognition! ☺️
www.ascb.org/society-news...

Riboflavin metabolism shapes FSP1-driven ferroptosis resistance https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.05.668651v1

Vitamin B2 metabolism promotes FSP1 stability to prevent ferroptosis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.05.668752v1

Exciting work! Congrats, Pedro and Team! :D

Riboflavin metabolism shapes FSP1-driven ferroptosis resistance Membrane protection against oxidative insults is achieved by the concerted action of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and endogenous lipophilic antioxidants such as ubiquinone and vitamin E. Deficienci...

🚨Preprint alert 🚨

We identify riboflavin (vitamin B₂) as a key modulator of ferroptosis sensitivity via stabilizing FSP1 & recycling lipid-soluble antioxidants.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1....

pls check @olzmannlab.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#ferroptosis #FSP1 #antioxidants

Riboflavin metabolism shapes FSP1-driven ferroptosis resistance Membrane protection against oxidative insults is achieved by the concerted action of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and endogenous lipophilic antioxidants such as ubiquinone and vitamin E. Deficienci...

Also see a new preprint from @angelifriedmann.bsky.social and colleagues that makes similar discoveries related to vitamin B2 / FSP1 stability and ferroptosis regulation: 👏🏽
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Vitamin B2 metabolism promotes FSP1 stability to prevent ferroptosis Ferroptosis, a regulated form of cell death driven by excessive lipid peroxidation, has emerged as a promising therapeutic target in cancer. Ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) is a critical regul...

Excited 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...

Jennifer Doudna is named 2026 Priestley Medalist The award recognizes the biochemist for discoveries on ribozyme function and CRISPR gene editing, and international science leadership

@acs.org is recognizing Jennifer A. Doudna with the Priestley Medal for her discoveries on ribozyme function, the Dicer RNase enzyme, double-stranded RNA processing, and CRISPR gene editing, along with her impactful international science leadership. cen.acs.org/people/award... #chemsky 🧪

Thanks for coming, Kat! Look forward to hearing more about your exciting research in the future!

What a wonderful meeting! Thanks to @olzmannlab.bsky.social and the whole community for being so welcoming.🙏🏻