Rate My Professor Rachelle Gaudet

Rachelle Gaudet is the Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Harvard Biophysics Graduate Program. Gaudet received her B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the Université de Montréal and her Ph.D. from Yale University. In 1998, she began her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University in Don Wiley's laboratory within the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. She joined the faculty as Assistant Professor in 2002 and was promoted to tenured Professor in 2010. On July 1, 2023, she assumed the role of Department Chair, succeeding Sean Eddy, for a three-year term. Her commitment to teaching, mentoring, and outreach has been a longstanding priority, earning her the Mentor of the Year award from Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering in 2019.

The research in Gaudet's laboratory elucidates the structure, function, and evolution of membrane proteins involved in signaling and transport across cellular membranes. Key protein families studied include Nramp transporters, which use proton gradients to transport divalent metal ions such as iron and manganese; clustered protocadherins, which mediate neuronal self-avoidance and signaling; ABC transporters that harness ATP for substrate transport; TRP channels sensing temperature and noxious stimuli; and insect gustatory receptors for taste, smell, and thermotransduction. Her group employs a multidisciplinary approach encompassing X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, cell-based and in vitro biochemical assays, patch-clamp electrophysiology, molecular dynamics simulations, and bioinformatics. Notable publications co-authored by Gaudet include "Crystal structure at 2.4 Å resolution of the complex of transducin βγ and its regulator, phosducin" (Cell, 1996), "Structure of the ABC ATPase domain of human TAP1, the transporter associated with antigen processing" (The EMBO Journal, 2001), "The ankyrin repeats of TRPV1 bind multiple ligands and modulate channel sensitivity" (Neuron, 2007), "Mutations in TRPV4 cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C" (Nature Genetics, 2010), and "Advances in TRP channel drug discovery: from target validation to clinical studies" (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2022). Her contributions have advanced understanding in structural biology and sensory signaling.