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Prof Paul SCHIMMEL

Ernest and Jean Hahn Professor and Chair in Molecular Biology and Chemistry
The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology
The Scripps Research Institute

Research Areas:
Genetics, with emphasis on aminoacyl tRNA synthetases

Prof. Paul Schimmel received his PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1966. Before he joined the Scripps Research Institute in 1997, he was the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Department of Biology at MIT. Currently, he is the Ernest and Jean Hahn Professor of Molecular Biology and Chemistry at The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology of the Scripps Research Institute.

His major research activities have concentrated on the decoding of genetic information, with emphasis on the rules of the universal genetic code which are established through aminoacylation reactions catalyzed by a group of enzymes known as aminoacyl tRNA synthetases. The latter are believed by many to be among the first enzymes to arise on this planet in the early stages of the evolution of life. His research group’s recent works include the development of ATYR1923, a clinical-stage product candidate which binds to the neuropilin-2 receptor and is designed to down-regulate immune engagement in interstitial lung diseases and other immune-mediated diseases.

Having a longstanding interest in the applications of basic biomedical research to human health, Prof. Schimmel is a Member of the US Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the US National Academy of Medicine and the US Academy of Inventors. He holds numerous patents and is a cofounder or founding director of multiple biotechnology companies, of which seven became publicly traded on NASDAQ. These companies are developing new therapies for human diseases and disorders, one of which, Pangu, is a joint venture with HKUST.

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+ News / Interviews with IAS byline (Total: 19 records)

+ Research publications with IAS byline (Total: 7 records)

Publications	View / Download
Adams, R. A., Fernandes-Cerqueira, C., Notarnicola, A., Mertsching, E., Xu, Z. , Lo, W. , Ogilvie, K., Chiang, K. P., Ampudia, J., Rosengren, S., Cubitt, A., King, D. J., Mendlein, J. D., Yang, X., Nangle, L. A., Lundberg, I. E., Jakobsson, P., Schimmel, P. (2019). Serum-circulating His-tRNA synthetase inhibits organ-targeted immune responses. Cellular and Molecular Immunology. doi:10.1038/s41423-019-0331-0
Xu, Z., Lo, W., Beck, D., Schuch, L., Oláhová, M., Kopajtich, R., Chong, Y., Alston, C., Seidl, E., Zhai, L., Lau, C., Timchak, D., LeDuc, C., Borczuk, A., Teich, A., Juusola, J., Sofeso, C., Müller, C., Pierre, G., Hilliard, T., Turnpenny, P., Wagner, M., Kappler, M., Brasch, F., Bouffard, J., Nangle, L., Yang, X., Zhang, M., Taylor, R., Prokisch, H., Griese, M., Chung, W. and Schimmel, P. (2018). Bi-allelic Mutations in Phe-tRNA Synthetase Associated with a Multi-system Pulmonary Disease Support Non-translational Function. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 103(1), pp.100-114.
Wei, Z., Xu, Z., Liu, X., Lo, W., Ye, F., Lau, C., Wang, F., Zhou, J., Nangle, L., Yang, X., Zhang, M. and Schimmel, P. (2016). Alternative Splicing Creates Two New Architectures for Human Tyrosyl-tRNA Synthetase. Nucleic Acids Research, 44(3), pp.1247-1255. doi:10.1093/nar/gkw002
Lo, W. S., Gardiner, E., Xu, Z. W., Lau, C. F., Wang, F., Zhou, J. J., Mendlein, J. D., Nangle, L. A., Chiang, K. P., Yang, X. L., Au, K. F., Wong, W. H., Guo, M., Zhang, M. J., & Schimmel, P. (2014). Human tRNA synthetase atalytic nulls with diverse functions. Science, 345(6194), 328-332.doi:10.1126/science.1252943
Zhou, J. J., Wang, F., Xu, Z. W., Lo, W. S., Lau, C. F., Chinag, K. P., Nangle, L. A., Ashlock, M. A., Mendlein, J. D., Yang, X. L., Zhang, M. J., & Schimmel, P. (2014). Secreted histidyl-trna synthetase splice variants elaborate major epitopes for autoantibodies in inflammatory myositis. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289(28), 19269-19275. doi:10.1074/jbc.C114.571026
Wang, F. , Xu, Z. W. , Zhou, J., Lo, W. S., Lau, C. F., Nangle, L. A., Yang, X. L., Zhang, M. J., & Schimmel, P. (2013). Regulated capture by exosomes of mRNAs for cytoplasmic tRNA synthetases. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 288(41), 29223-29228. doi:10.1074/jbc.C113.490599
Xu, Z. W., Wei, Z. Y., Zhou, J. J., Ye, F., Lo, W. S. ,Wang, F. , Lau, C. F., Wu, J. J., Nangie, L. A., Chiang, K. P., Yang, X. L., Zhang, M. J., & Schimmel, P. (2012). Internally deleted human tRNA synthetase suggests evolutionary pressure for repurposing. Structure, 20(9), 1470-1477. doi:10.1016/j.str.2012.08.001

+ Engagement in IAS activities / events (Total: 5 records)

Announcement: (Dec 8, 2021)

The New IAS Website https://ias.hkust.edu.hk/ is launched.

You will be redirected to the new website automatically to view our latest information.

Announcement: (Dec 8, 2021)

The New IAS Website https://ias.hkust.edu.hk/ is launched. You will be redirected to the new website automatically to view our latest information.

The New IAS Website https://ias.hkust.edu.hk/ is launched.

You will be redirected to the new website automatically to view our latest information.