Thomas Weimbs

Biography

Dr. Weimbs received his doctoral degree from the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Cologne, Germany, in 1993. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Department of Anatomy, University of California at San Francisco until 1999. In the same year, he joined the Department of Cell Biology in the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic as an Assistant Professor where he established his research laboratory focusing on investigating membrane trafficking and epithelial cell polarity as well as molecular mechanisms underlying polycystic kidney disease. In 2005, Dr. Weimbs was recruited to the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and moved his laboratory to UCSB. Dr. Weimbs is currently a Professor in MCDB and in the Neuroscience Research Institute.

Research

A primary focus of our laboratory is the investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and related renal diseases. Research in the Weimbs Laboratory has already led to better understanding of aberrantly regulated signaling mechanisms in PKD and proposed possible new strategies for disease treatment. Our laboratory strives to discover new basic mechanisms of epithelial cell function and kidney physiology. The training of future scientists at the postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate level is another important mission of the Weimbs Laboratory.