Sharon Tooze

Sharon Tooze is a leading researcher on the initiation of autophagy, particularly the ULK1 kinase complex that serves as the master switch for autophagosome formation in response to nutrient deprivation and cellular stress. Her work has characterized the AMPK-ULK1 signaling axis and ATG9 vesicle trafficking in autophagy initiation, providing the biochemical rationale for developing ULK1 kinase inhibitors as cancer therapeutics. She has contributed to the structural understanding of the ULK1-ATG13-FIP200-ATG101 complex. Her research is guiding the development of selective ULK1 inhibitors that may offer more targeted autophagy inhibition than chloroquine-based approaches.