Rate My Professor Beverly Wendland

Her research in molecular cell biology focuses on endocytosis and membrane trafficking mechanisms in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using genetic, biochemical, and cell biological approaches, her lab investigates clathrin-mediated and clathrin-independent endocytosis, including cargo selection by adaptors such as epsins and Yap180, scaffold proteins like Pan1, actin regulation, and ubiquitin-dependent sorting. This work elucidates cellular processes relevant to human diseases including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and lysosomal storage diseases. Key publications include "ESCRT-dependent protein sorting is required for the viability of yeast clathrin-mediated endocytosis mutants" (Traffic, 2020), "Alpha-arrestins participate in cargo selection for both clathrin-independent and clathrin-mediated endocytosis" (Journal of Cell Science, 2015), "Pan1 regulates transitions between stages of clathrin-mediated endocytosis" (Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2015), and "Endocytic adaptors—social networking at the plasma membrane" (Journal of Cell Science, 2011). Funded by the NIH and NSF, her contributions earned her election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund New Investigator Award in 1999, and the March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Award. She has served on editorial boards for Molecular Biology of the Cell, EMBO Reports, and Traffic, and delivered invited lectures at numerous institutions.