Lukasz Joachimiak, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Associate Professor Endowed Title Effie Marie Cain Scholar in Medical Research Schools Medical School | Graduate School Departments Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases | Biochemistry | Biophysics Graduate Programs Molecular Biophysics Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Lukasz Joachimiak received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000. He received his Ph.D. in 2007 working in the lab of David Baker at University of Washington where he established computational tools to define the energetic and structural principles that underlie protein-protein interactions. He completed his postdoctoral work with Judith Frydman at Stanford University where he developed innovative approaches to understand the structure and mechanics of substrate interaction by the eukaryotic chaperonin TRiC/CCT. At UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Joachimiak's laboratory utilizes structural and biochemical approaches to dissect the role of chaperones and protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases. His group is also interested in integrating computational and experimental methods to design molecular interactions to control amyloid assembly. The Joachimiak Lab is a collaborative environment focused on uncovering the molecular origins of neurodegenerative disease. We value scientific rigor, creativity, and interdisciplinary thinking, and support trainees in taking ownership of their research to advance the field. Education Undergraduate Uni of Wisconsin-Madison (2001), Biochemistry Graduate School University of Washington (2007), Biochemistry Research Interest Chaperone structural biology Design of molecular recognition and specificity Protein (mis)folding in neurodegenerative diseases Publications Featured Publications DNAJB8 oligomerization is mediated by an aromatic-rich motif that is dispensable for substrate activity. Ryder BD, Ustyantseva E, Boyer DR, Mendoza-Oliva A, Kuska MI, Wydorski PM, Macierzynska P, Morgan N, Sawaya MR, Diamond MI, Kampinga HH, Joachimiak LA, Structure 2024 Mar Network of hotspot interactions cluster tau amyloid folds. Mullapudi V, Vaquer-Alicea J, Bommareddy V, Vega AR, Ryder BD, White CL, Diamond MI, Joachimiak LA, Nat Commun 2023 Feb 14 1 895 DnaJC7 binds natively folded structural elements in tau to inhibit amyloid formation. Hou Z, Wydorski PM, Perez VA, Mendoza-Oliva A, Ryder BD, Mirbaha H, Kashmer O, Joachimiak LA, Nat Commun 2021 09 12 1 5338 Regulatory inter-domain interactions influence Hsp70 recruitment to the DnaJB8 chaperone. Ryder BD, Matlahov I, Bali S, Vaquer-Alicea J, van der Wel PCA, Joachimiak LA, Nat Commun 2021 02 12 1 946 Tau local structure shields an amyloid-forming motif and controls aggregation propensity. Chen D, Drombosky KW, Hou Z, Sari L, Kashmer OM, Ryder BD, Perez VA, Woodard DR, Lin MM, Diamond MI, Joachimiak LA, Nat Commun 2019 06 10 1 2493 NLRP3 haploinsufficiency unmasks a compensatory NLRP1-NLRP3 interaction that drives accelerated aging in mice. Muela-Zarzuela I, Alcocer-Gómez E, Suarez-Rivero JM, Low E, Ishaq A, Azkargorta M, Luque-Sierra A, Martin F, Elortza F, Astorga-Gamaza A, Antón R, Bali S, Tamargo-Azpilicueta J, Guerra-Castellano A, Díaz-Moreno I, Joachimiak LA, Oroz J, Ruiz-Cabello J, von Zglinicki T, Sanz A, Cordero MD, Sci Adv 2026 Jun 12 26 eaec9499 Cysteines are critical determinants of spontaneous and seeded tau aggregation in cells. Jayan P, Rastogi S, Bommareddy V, Dashnaw CM, Vaquer-Alicea J, Nguyen BA, Saelices L, Shahmoradian S, White CL, Diamond MI, Joachimiak LA, bioRxiv 2026 Mar Amyloid-motif-dependent tau self-assembly is modulated by isoform sequence context. Bali S, Wydorski PM, Singh R, Van Nuland NE, Wosztyl A, Morgan N, Perez VA, Chen D, Chen J, Rizo J, Joachimiak LA, Structure 2025 Dec DnaJB1 chaperone inhibits tau aggregation by recognizing its N-terminus. Wydorski PM, Macierzynska P, Bali S, Vaquer-Alicea J, Joachimiak LA, bioRxiv 2025 Oct Select azo compounds post-translationally modulate HTRA1 abundance and activity potentially through interactions at the trimer interface. Hulleman JD, Jeon S, Bali S, DiCesare SM, Abbas A, Daniel S, Ortega AJ, Collier GE, Yang J, Bhattacharyaa A, McCoy MK, Joachimiak LA, Posner BA, bioRxiv 2025 May Results 1-10 of 50 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last Honors & Awards Endowed Scholar Award (2016-2020)
