BCL‑2 Protein Family

Claudio Hetz received his BA in Biotechnology Engineering from the University of Chile in 2000. In his PhD work with Claudio Soto at Serono Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Geneva, he showed that Prion pathogenesis involves endoplasmic reticulum stress responses and apoptosis. In 2004 he joined as a postdoctoral fellow Stanley Korsmeyer’s lab at Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute, a pioneer in the apoptosis field. Together they discovered new functions of the BCL‑2 family in organelle physiology. Dr. Hetz followed his projects in Laurie Glimcher’s lab at Harvard. During this period he expanded his studies on neurodegeneration, addressing the connection between apoptosis and the unfolded protein response in vivo. Since 2007 he is an Assistant Professor at the University of Chile and adjunct professor at Harvard. His lab uses animal models to investigate the signaling responses involved in protein misfolding disorders and the role of the BCL‑2 protein family in stress conditions. He was recently awarded with the TWAS‑ROLAC Young Scientist Prize, also as finalist with the Eppendorf and Science Award in Neurobiology, and other important recognitions.

Homeostatic Functions of BCL-2 Proteins beyond Apoptosis.- Alternative Functions of the BCL-2 Protein Family at the Endoplasmic Reticulum.- BH3-Only Proteins and Their Effects on Cancer.- Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and BCL-2 Family Members.- Targeting Survival Pathways in Lymphoma.- The Interplay between BCL-2 Family Proteins and Mitochondrial Morphology in the Regulation of Apoptosis.- Noncanonical Functions of BCL-2 Proteins in the Nervous System.- Mitochondria on Guard: Role of Mitochondrial Fusion and Fission in the Regulation of Apoptosis.