Jodi Nunnari is an American cell biologist and pioneer in the field of mitochondrial biology. She is currently the director of the Bay Area Institute of Science, a founding principal investigator at the biotechnology company

Altos Labs Altos Labs, Inc. is an American biotechnology research company. Altos Labs' goal is to develop life extension therapies that can halt or reverse the human aging process. Specialized cell therapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells are to ...

, and director of its Bay Area Institute of Science. She is a distinguished professor emerita and former chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

while also serving as the editor-in-chief of the ''

Journal of Cell Biology The ''Journal of Cell Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Rockefeller University Press. History In the early 1950s, a small group of biologists began to explore intracellular anatomy using the emerging technology of e ...

''. Nunnari served as president of the

American Society for Cell Biology The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960.Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, and studied chemistry at the

College of Wooster {{Infobox university , image = College of Wooster seal.png , image_upright = .6 , name = The College of Wooster , former_names = University of Wooster (1866–1915) , motto ...

before obtaining a Ph.D. in pharmacology from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, working with Lee Limbird. As a postdoctoral fellow with

Peter Walter Peter Walter (born December 5, 1954) is a German-American molecular biologist and biochemist. He is currently the Director of the Bay Area Institute of Science at Altos Labs and an emeritus professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biop ...

at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

, Nunnari pioneered the use of

green fluorescent protein The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein that exhibits green fluorescence when exposed to light in the blue to ultraviolet range. The label ''GFP'' traditionally refers to the protein first isolated from the jellyfish ''Aequorea victo ...

to visualize

mitochondria A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

budding yeast ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have been ...

, helping to establish the field of mitochondrial dynamics.

Research and career

Nunnari was the first to describe mitochondria as a dynamic network in homeostatic balance and her lab described the mitochondrial division and fusion machines. Her lab has uncovered additional mechanisms underlying mitochondrial behavior, including how mitochondrial membranes are organized, how mitochondria communicate with the endoplasmic reticulum, and how the mitochondrial genome is transmitted. Since obtaining an independent position at the University of California, Davis, Nunnari and colleagues have investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial fission and fusion and explored the structure and function of membrane contact sites that link mitochondria with other organelles. Nunnari was named editor-in-chief of the ''

'' in August 2015, becoming the first woman to serve in this position. She is a member of the American Society for Cell Biology and served as the society's president in 2018. She is also a member of the

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a learned society that was founded on December 26, 1906, at a meeting organized by John Jacob Abel (Johns Hopkins University). The roots of the society were in the American Ph ...

. Nunnari was elected as a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 2017, of the

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 2,100 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

in 2020, and of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 2021. In 2022, Nunnari became a founding principal investigator at Altos Labs, a company focused on cellular rejuvenation programming to restore cell health and resilience, with the goal of reversing disease to transform medicine. At Altos, her lab has continued to uncover mechanisms underlying mitochondrial function and behavior, including how mitochondrial biogenesis is controlled, how mitochondria contribute to lipid homeostasis, and how mitochondrial metabolism contributes to organismal health and rejuvenation. In 2023, Jodi was named director of the Bay Area Institute Science of Altos Labs.

Awards and honors

* 2021 Associate Member
EMBO
* 202
AAAS
Member * 201
American Society for Cell Biology
(ASCB) President * 201
Feodor Lynen Medal
German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology * 2017 National Academy of Sciences, Member * 2015 NIH MERIT award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunnari, Jodi Year of birth missing (living people) Living people College of Wooster alumni Vanderbilt University alumni American cell biologists University of California, San Francisco alumni 21st-century American biologists