Jomaa, Ahmad
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics
Education
- HBSC, Biology, Genetics, McMaster University, Canada
- PhD, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Canada
- Postdoc, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Contact Information
480 Ray Hunt Dr.
Room 280
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Email: vve5sr@virginia.edu
Website: https://med.virginia.edu/jomaa-lab/
Research Disciplines
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biophysics & Structural Biology, Cancer Biology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, Structural Biology
Research Interests
Mechanisms by which cells direct and regulate protein targeting to the ER and mitochondria, and how molecular control of cell dormancy impacts health and disease.
Research Description
My lab investigates the molecular mechanisms that control how cells manage protein biogenesis and adapt to stress, with broad implications for human disease. 1. Cell Dormancy – We study the molecular switches that control entry into and exit from dormancy, processes that underlie cancer persistence and infectious disease recurrence. 2. Protein Targeting to the Endoplasmic Reticulum – We investigate how quality control safeguards protein targeting to the ER, as defects in this pathway are linked to metabolic, neurodegenerative, and developmental disorders. 3. Mitochondrial Protein Import – We examine how proteins are targeted and imported into mitochondria, a process critical for cellular energy balance and often disrupted in mitochondrial disease, aging, and degenerative conditions.