Benjamin Weaver, Ph.D.
Titles and Appointments
Assistant Professor
- Endowed Title
- Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research
- School
- Medical School
- Department
- Pharmacology | Physiology
- Graduate Programs
- Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics, Development and Disease
Benjamin (Ben) Weaver is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology. He also holds appointments in the Department of Physiology, the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, and the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. Ben received his B.S. in Biochemistry (2001) and M.S. in Biology (2003) from WSU. He then received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2009) from KU Medical Center under the supervision of Dr. Glen Andrews where his work established developmental and post-transcriptional regulation of mammalian zinc transporters. For post-doctoral training, he studied with Dr. Min Han with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at the University of Colorado Boulder. Using C. elegans, Ben discovered a non-apoptotic function for CED-3 caspase in regulating stemness. He went on to show the caspase worked with a UBR-type E3 ligase to target LIN-28 pluripotency factor for proteolytic degradation.
In 2018, Ben established the Weaver lab at UT Southwestern in the Department of Pharmacology as an Endowed Scholar where he holds the title of Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research.
The Weaver lab studies gene-environment interactions. We are especially interested in how these cellular responses impact development, stress responses, aging, stemness and innate immunity. Our lab is cross-disciplinary combining cell imaging, genetics, proteomics, metabolomics and biochemical analyses. We use an array of models including C. elegans, mammalian cell culture, and in vitro models.
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