David M. Sabatini (born January 27, 1968) is an American scientist and a former professor of biology at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. From 2002 to 2021, he was a member of the
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally indepen ...
. He was also an investigator of the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 2008 to 2021 and was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences in 2016. He is known for his contributions in the areas of cell signaling and cancer metabolism, most notably the co-discovery of
mTOR
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), also referred to as the mechanistic target of rapamycin, and sometimes called FK506-binding protein 12-rapamycin-associated protein 1 (FRAP1), is a kinase that in humans is encoded by the ''MTOR'' gene. ...
.
In 2021 and 2022, Sabatini was fired from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and resigned his positions at the Whitehead Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Sabatini denies the charges.
Biography
David M. Sabatini was born and raised in
New York to
David D. Sabatini and Zulema Sabatini, both
Argentine immigrants from
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. He obtained his B.S. from
Brown University followed by both his MD and his Ph.D. at
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...
, where he worked in the lab of
Solomon H. Snyder. He joined the Whitehead Institute as a
Whitehead Fellow in 1997, the same year he matriculated from Johns Hopkins.
In 2002 he became an Assistant Professor at MIT and a Member of the Whitehead Institute. He was promoted to tenured professor in 2006.
Sabatini currently resides in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
and is an avid biker and gardener. His father,
David D. Sabatini, is a cell biologist and Professor at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
. His younger brother,
Bernardo L. Sabatini, is a neuroscientist and Professor at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
.
Sabatini is the scientific founder of Navitor, Raze Therapeutics, and KSQ Therapeutics.
Allegations of sexual misconduct
In late 2021, following an investigation by an outside law firm of concerns surrounding sexual harassment, the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute fired Sabatini, and he resigned from the
Whitehead Institute
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally indepen ...
.
Following this, MIT placed Sabatini on administrative leave while it conducted its own investigation.
MIT's investigation concluded with a recommendation to revoke tenure, at which time Sabatini resigned from his position at MIT.
Sabatini denies that the alleged behavior was sexual harassment, and he has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Whitehead Institute and two of its scientists.
In 2022, Sabatini was under consideration for a position at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. After significant protests from students and some faculty over the sexual harassment allegations, he withdrew his name from consideration.
Scientific contributions
As a graduate student in Solomon Snyder's Lab at Johns Hopkins, Sabatini began working on understanding the molecular mechanism of
rapamycin
Sirolimus, also known as rapamycin and sold under the brand name Rapamune among others, is a macrolide compound that is used to coat coronary stents, prevent organ transplant rejection, treat a rare lung disease called lymphangioleiomyomatosi ...
; a macrolide antibiotic discovered in the soil of
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its ne ...
that has potent antifungal, immunosuppressive, and anti-tumorigenic properties.
Although the TOR/DRR genes had been identified in 1993 as conferring rapamycin resistance in
budding yeast
''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungus microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have been ...
, the direct target of rapamycin and its mechanism of action in mammals was unknown.
In 1994, Sabatini used rapamycin and its binding partner
FKBP12
Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase FKBP1A is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FKBP1A'' gene.
Function
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the immunophilin protein family, which play a role in immunoregulation and basi ...
to purify the mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) protein from rat brain, showing it to be the direct target of rapamycin in mammals and the homolog of the yeast TOR/DRR genes.
Since starting his own lab at the Whitehead Institute in 1997, Sabatini has made numerous key contributions to the understanding of mTOR function, regulation, and importance in diseases such as
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
For example, his lab discovered the
mTORC1
mTORC1, also known as mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 or mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1, is a protein complex that functions as a nutrient/energy/redox sensor and controls protein synthesis.
mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1) is compo ...
and
mTORC2 multi-protein complexes, the nutrient sensing Rag GTPase pathway upstream of mTORC1,
as well as the direct amino acid sensors Sestrin
and CASTOR.
]
Sabatini's research interests have expanded in recent years to include cancer metabolism as well as technology development surrounding the use of high-throughput genetic screens in human cells, most notably through the use of
RNA interference
RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules are involved in sequence-specific suppression of gene expression by double-stranded RNA, through translational or transcriptional repression. Historically, RNAi was known by ...
and the
CRISPR-Cas9 system.
Selected awards and honors
* 2009
Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research The Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research is awarded by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to recognize cancer researchers who are making significant contributions to the understanding of cancer or are improving the treatment of the disease t ...
* 2014
NAS Award in Molecular Biology
The NAS Award in Molecular Biology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for recent notable discovery in molecular biology by a young scientist who is a citizen of the United States." It has been awarded annually since its inceptio ...
* 2017
Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences The Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences recognizes outstanding achievement by a promising young scientist in biomedical research. It is awarded annually by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.
Established in 2013 the award is wo ...
* 2019
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers who have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemist ...
* 2020
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards () are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The categories that make up the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ...
in Biology and Biomedicine
* 2020
Nemmers Prize in Medical Science
Selected publications
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabatini, David M.
1968 births
Living people
American biochemists
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Brown University alumni
American people of Argentine descent