Research Summary

Jeremy Reiter is the chairperson of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. His lab investigates how cilia form, signal and function in intercellular communication. Their achievements include:
1. The discovery that Smoothened, a critical component of the Hedgehog pathway, localizes to and works in cilia. This was the first demonstration that the Hedgehog signal transduction machinery functions at cilia.
2. They were the first to show that cancers can be ciliated and that cancers can require cilia for growth.
3. They helped show that the region at the base of the cilium called the transition zone is a gate that controls ciliary composition. For example, the transition zone regulates the ciliary localization of Smoothened and, therefore, is required for Hedgehog signaling.
4. They identified many transition zone components and discovered that some ciliopathies are caused by inherited human mutations in these transition zone components.
5. They found a phosphoinositide that marks the ciliary membrane and helps direct which proteins localize to cilia. This was the first identification of a specific cilia-enriched lipid.
6. They investigated how cilia regulate adult tissue homeostasis. Recently, they have shown how cilia of hypothalamic neurons signal to regulate satiety and how cilia restrict adipogenesis.

Research Funding

  • June 1, 2016 - July 31, 2026 - Obesity in Ciliopathies: How Neuronal Primary Cilia Control Appetite , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01DK106404
  • August 1, 2015 - July 31, 2025 - UCSF Nutrition Obesity Research Center , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P30DK098722
  • December 1, 2006 - June 30, 2025 - Hedgehog signaling at the cell's antenna: Smoothened and the primary cilium , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01AR054396
  • July 1, 1994 - April 30, 2024 - Predoctoral Training in Developmental Biology , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: T32HD007470
  • July 18, 2011 - August 31, 2023 - Transition zone control of ciliary signaling , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01DE029454
  • May 1, 2021 - April 30, 2022 - Illuminating the function of the understudied kinase DYRK2 in ciliary Hedgehog signal transduction , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03TR003705
  • December 10, 2016 - November 30, 2021 - Understanding Ciliary Functions in Mammalian Development , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HD089918
  • July 15, 2018 - June 30, 2021 - How Zika virus disrupts neuronal cellular architecture , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21NS104633
  • March 8, 2017 - February 29, 2020 - Restoring ciliogenesis as a novel approach to blocking breast cancer growth , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA207659
  • March 23, 2016 - February 29, 2020 - A high content screen dissecting ciliogenesis and oncogenic Hedgehog signaling , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA181231
  • July 18, 2011 - April 30, 2019 - Transition zone control of ciliary signaling , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01GM095941
  • September 27, 2010 - August 31, 2012 - A novel high content screen for regulators of ciliogenesis and Hedgehog signaling , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21NS066448
  • September 30, 2004 - July 31, 2007 - Embryonic Stem Cell Formation of Definitive Endoderm , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21DK069423
  • February 5, 2003 - January 1, 2004 - Semaphorin-plexin signaling &vertebrate cell movement , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: F32HD043591

Education

Yale College, New Haven, CT, BA, 1989-1993, Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics
University of California, San Francisco, PhD, 1995-1999, Genetics
University of California, San Francisco, MD, 1993-1995, 2000-2001, Medicine
University of California, Berkeley, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2001-2003, Developmental Biology
University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Fellow, 2003-2006, Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program

Honors & Awards

  • 2001
    Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
  • 2004
    March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Research Award
  • 2005
    Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences
  • 2007
    Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering
  • 2009
    Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
  • 2010
    American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI)
  • 2011
    National Academy of Science Kavli Fellow
  • 2012
    American Association of Anatomists R. R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology
  • 2015
    Grace Boyer Junior Faculty Endowed Chair
  • 2017
    Albert Bowers Endowed Chair
  • 2017
    Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Distinguished Scholar Alumni Award

Selected Publications

  1. Wallman DJ, Homma ST, Finton M, Beermann M, Jacob A, Choksi SP, Pletcher SD, Xu H, Bawa PS, Reiter JF, Horani A, Brody SL, Berical A, Hawkins FJ A stem cell-based platform for functional analysis of genetic variants in lung disease.  View on PubMed
  2. Brewer KM, Brewer KK, Richardson NC, Reiter JF, Berbari NF, Konjikusic MJ Primary cilia and BBS4 are required for postnatal pituitary development.  View on PubMed
  3. Vazquez N, Lee C, Valenzuela I, Phan TP, Derderian C, Chávez M, Mooney NA, Demeter J, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Cusco I, Codina M, Martínez-Gil N, Valverde D, Solarat C, Buel AL, Thauvin-Robinet C, Steichen E, Filges I, Joset P, De Geyter J, Vaidyanathan K, Gardner TP, Toriyama M, Marcotte EM, Drew K, Roberson EC, Jackson PK, Reiter JF, Tizzano EF, Wallingford JB The human ciliopathy protein RSG1 links the CPLANE complex to transition zone architecture.  View on PubMed
  4. Nguyen TD, Konjikusic MJ, Castillo LD, Reiter JF. Smoothened inhibition of PKA at cilia transduces Hedgehog signals. bioRxiv. 2025 Apr 01.  View on PubMed
  5. Mao S, Song R, Jin S, Pang S, Jovanovic A, Zimmerman A, Li P, Wu X, Wendland MF, Lin K, Chen WC, Choksi SP, Chen G, Holtzman MJ, Reiter JF, Wan Y, Xuan Z, Xiang YK, Xu CS, Upadhyayula S, Hess HF, He L. Multicilia dynamically transduce Sonic Hedgehog signaling to regulate choroid plexus functions. Cell Rep. 2025 Mar 25; 44(3):115383.  View on PubMed
  6. Mao S, Song R, Jin S, Pang S, Jovanovic A, Zimmerman A, Li P, Wu X, Wendland MF, Lin K, Chen WC, Choksi SP, Chen G, Holtzman MJ, Reiter JF, Wan Y, Xuan Z, Xiang YK, Xu CS, Upadhyayula S, Hess HF, He L. Multicilia dynamically transduce Shh signaling to regulate choroid plexus functions. bioRxiv. 2025 Jan 22.  View on PubMed
  7. Ha K, Loeb GB, Park M, Gupta M, Akiyama Y, Argiris J, Pinedo A, Park CH, Brandes N, Ritu F, Ye CJ, Reiter JF, Delling M. ADPKD-Causing Missense Variants in Polycystin-1 Disrupt Cell Surface Localization or Polycystin Channel Function. bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 03.  View on PubMed
  8. Vazquez N, Lee C, Valenzuela I, Phan TP, Derderian C, Chávez M, Mooney NA, Demeter J, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Cusco I, Codina M, Martínez-Gil N, Valverde D, Solarat C, Buel AL, Thauvin-Robinet C, Steichen E, Filges I, Joset P, De Geyter J, Vaidyanathan K, Gardner T, Toriyama M, Marcotte EM, Roberson EC, Jackson PK, Reiter JF, Tizzano EF, Wallingford JB. The human ciliopathy protein RSG1 links the CPLANE complex to transition zone architecture. bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 26.  View on PubMed
  9. Loeb GB, Kathail P, Shuai RW, Chung R, Grona RJ, Peddada S, Sevim V, Federman S, Mader K, Chu AY, Davitte J, Du J, Gupta AR, Ye CJ, Shafer S, Przybyla L, Rapiteanu R, Ioannidis NM, Reiter JF. Variants in tubule epithelial regulatory elements mediate most heritable differences in human kidney function. Nat Genet. 2024 Oct; 56(10):2078-2092.  View on PubMed
  10. Ha K, Mundt-Machado N, Bisignano P, Pinedo A, Raleigh DR, Loeb G, Reiter JF, Cao E, Delling M. Cilia-enriched oxysterol 7β,27-DHC is required for polycystin ion channel activation. Nat Commun. 2024 Jul 31; 15(1):6468.  View on PubMed
  11. Loeb GB, Kathail P, Shuai R, Chung R, Grona RJ, Peddada S, Sevim V, Federman S, Mader K, Chu A, Davitte J, Du J, Gupta AR, Ye CJ, Shafer S, Przybyla L, Rapiteanu R, Ioannidis N, Reiter JF. Variants in tubule epithelial regulatory elements mediate most heritable differences in human kidney function. bioRxiv. 2024 Jun 22.  View on PubMed
  12. Choksi SP, Byrnes LE, Konjikusic MJ, Tsai BWH, Deleon R, Lu Q, Westlake CJ, Reiter JF. An alternative cell cycle coordinates multiciliated cell differentiation. Nature. 2024 Jun; 630(8015):214-221.  View on PubMed
  13. Clearman KR, Timpratoom N, Patel D, Rains AB, Haycraft CJ, Croyle MJ, Reiter JF, Yoder BK. Rab35 Is Required for Embryonic Development and Kidney and Ureter Homeostasis through Regulation of Epithelial Cell Junctions. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2024 Jun 01; 35(6):719-732.  View on PubMed
  14. Hilgendorf KI, Myers BR, Reiter JF. Emerging mechanistic understanding of cilia function in cellular signalling. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2024 Jul; 25(7):555-573.  View on PubMed
  15. Hoppe N, Harrison S, Hwang SH, Chen Z, Karelina M, Deshpande I, Suomivuori CM, Palicharla VR, Berry SP, Tschaikner P, Regele D, Covey DF, Stefan E, Marks DS, Reiter JF, Dror RO, Evers AS, Mukhopadhyay S, Manglik A. GPR161 structure uncovers the redundant role of sterol-regulated ciliary cAMP signaling in the Hedgehog pathway. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2024 Apr; 31(4):667-677.  View on PubMed
  16. Hoi KK, Xia W, Wei MM, Ulloa Navas MJ, Garcia Verdugo JM, Nachury MV, Reiter JF, Fancy SPJ. Primary cilia control oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation in white matter injury via Hedgehog-independent CREB signaling. Cell Rep. 2023 10 31; 42(10):113272.  View on PubMed
  17. Jung HJ, Dixon EE, Coleman R, Watnick T, Reiter JF, Outeda P, Cebotaru V, Woodward OM, Welling PA. Polycystin-2-dependent transcriptome reveals early response of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Physiol Genomics. 2023 Nov 01; 55(11):565-577.  View on PubMed
  18. Clearman KR, Timpratoom N, Patel D, Rains AB, Haycraft CJ, Croyle MJ, Reiter JF, Yoder BK. Rab35 is required for embryonic development and kidney and ureter homeostasis through regulation of epithelial cell junctions. bioRxiv. 2023 Sep 12.  View on PubMed
  19. Coyle MC, Tajima AM, Leon F, Choksi SP, Yang A, Espinoza S, Hughes TR, Reiter JF, Booth DS, King N. An RFX transcription factor regulates ciliogenesis in the closest living relatives of animals. Curr Biol. 2023 09 11; 33(17):3747-3758.e9.  View on PubMed
  20. Daggubati V, Vykunta A, Choudhury A, Qadeer Z, Mirchia K, Saulnier O, Zakimi N, Hines K, Paul M, Wang L, Jura N, Xu L, Reiter J, Taylor M, Weiss W, Raleigh D. Hedgehog target genes regulate lipid metabolism to drive basal cell carcinoma and medulloblastoma. Res Sq. 2023 Aug 03.  View on PubMed

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