Rolf Bodmer earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Neurobiology from the University of Basel, Switzerland, in 1983. Dr. Bodmer trained as a postdoctoral fellow in Neurobiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and also studied Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Biology in 1990 at the University of Michigan. There, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Biology in 1996, and then appointed to Associate Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology in 2001. Dr. Bodmer joined Sanford Burnham Prebys in 2003, where he is Professor and Director of the Center for Cardiovascular and Muscular Diseases.
Other Appointments
Adjunct professor, University of California, San Diego
Funding Awards and Collaborative Grants
1 P01 AG033561 “Genetic Analysis of Drosophila Functional Aging”
Honors and Recognition
Ellison Foundation Senior Scholar Award
Related Disease
Cancer, Cardiovascular Diseases, Heart Disease, Inherited Disorders, Metabolic Diseases, Metabolic Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, Neurodegenerative and Neuromuscular Diseases, Obesity, Parkinson’s Disease
The Bodmer lab is interested in the molecular mechanisms of organ formation, how patterns are generated and how cells and tissue types assume their correct fates and functions. The Bodmer lab is pursuing this interest by studying the genetic functions and interactions that specify heart development and maintain heart performance in the Drosophila model, in the hope of elucidating basic principles in organogenesis and functionality.
Mesoderm
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Cardiac Mesoderm
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Cardiac Cell Types
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Morphogenesis
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Heart Function
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Aging Heart
They study the HIF and Notch pathways in various organismal responses to hypoxia. Both of these pathways as well as mechanisms and responses to hypoxia are of high relevance to cancer research.
They are also studying master regulatory networks in how they control metabolism and obesity. These fundamental studies on obesity pathways will also be highly relevant to cancer metabolism.
Jul 17, 2023New genes implicated in deadly heart defect
Jul 17, 2023By identifying genes in patients and testing their effects in fruit flies, Institute researchers have found new genes that contribute…
Aug 4, 2017Preuss School interns get an “A” grade at SBP
Aug 4, 2017“I got to do things I never thought I could do,” said Yadira Gomez Rangel, 16, a rising junior at…
Jun 19, 20172017 BIO features SBP scientists
Jun 19, 2017Two SBP researchers will be sharing their knowledge and insights at the 2017 BIO International Convention, which will be held…
Feb 1, 2017An “Odd” gene affects aging of the heart
Feb 1, 2017As we get older, our hearts change in ways that make it harder for them to pump blood. They become…
Nov 3, 2015SBP’s 37th Annual Symposium: Aging and Regeneration
Nov 3, 2015On Friday, October 30, more 350 people came to SBP’s 37th Annual Symposium to hear leading scientists present their latest…
May 29, 2015Novel model for cardiomyopathy paves the way for new therapies
May 29, 2015A new fruit fly model that captures key metabolic defects associated with cardiomyopathy could translate into more-effective treatments for this…
Select Publications
Showing 3 of 3Tinman/Nkx2-5 acts via miR-1 and upstream of Cdc42 to regulate heart function across species.
Qian L, Wythe JD, Liu J, Cartry J, Vogler G, Mohapatra B, Otway RT, Huang Y, King IN, Maillet M, Zheng Y, Crawley T, Taghli-Lamallem O, Semsarian C, Dunwoodie S, Winlaw D, Harvey RP, Fatkin D, Towbin JA, Molkentin JD, Srivastava D, Ocorr K, Bruneau BG, Bodmer R
J Cell Biol 2011 Jun 27 ;193(7):1181-96High-fat-diet-induced obesity and heart dysfunction are regulated by the TOR pathway in Drosophila.
Birse RT, Choi J, Reardon K, Rodriguez J, Graham S, Diop S, Ocorr K, Bodmer R, Oldham S
Cell Metab 2010 Nov 3 ;12(5):533-44A global in vivo Drosophila RNAi screen identifies NOT3 as a conserved regulator of heart function.
Neely GG, Kuba K, Cammarato A, Isobe K, Amann S, Zhang L, Murata M, Elmén L, Gupta V, Arora S, Sarangi R, Dan D, Fujisawa S, Usami T, Xia CP, Keene AC, Alayari NN, Yamakawa H, Elling U, Berger C, Novatchkova M, Koglgruber R, Fukuda K, Nishina H, Isobe M, Pospisilik JA, Imai Y, Pfeufer A, Hicks AA, Pramstaller PP, Subramaniam S, Kimura A, Ocorr K, Bodmer R, Penninger JM
Cell 2010 Apr 2 ;141(1):142-53